


Exceptions to the Rules

by SMB814



Series: Whatever Will Be [3]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-19
Updated: 2010-12-19
Packaged: 2017-10-13 19:23:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 64,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/140808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SMB814/pseuds/SMB814
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 3 of the "Whatever Will Be" series. It is truly amazing what we find ourselves willing to do for those we love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> **Rating:** T
> 
>  **Warnings:** Zelos being Zelos -- i.e. adult themes, mild language, innuendo, mild sexual situations, etc.
> 
>  **Category:** Romance/Fluff (Sheelos - if you don't like it, don't read it), Drama, Angst, Character study
> 
>  **Spoilers:** Spoilers for the game and the first two stories in this series.
> 
>  **Time Frame:** Part 3 of the _Whatever Will Be_ series. If you haven't read the first two stories in the series ( _Mental Holiday_ and _Trust Building 101_ , then go do that first or you won't understand the place where these two are currently at. (The seven stories in the series are, in order, _Mental Holiday_ , _Trust Building 101_ , _Exceptions to the Rules_ , _Crossing the Line_ , _The Experiment_ , _Guardian Knight_ , and _Worth It_.)
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** Alas, Tales of Symphonia and its lovely characters don't belong to me. They belong to Namco-Bandai Games. I'm just borrowing them and not making any money off them, and I promise I'll return them unharmed (and probably happier than they ever were before) when I'm done playing with them. Any characters you don't recognize from the game belong to me (even though I would be very happy to give certain ones away).
> 
>  **Feedback:** Feedback is love and fodder for future fics. It will probably motivate me to finish the rest of this series faster, too.
> 
>  **History:** Plotting began December 2008, completed May 26, 2009; rough draft completed April 7, 2010. Final version completed on December 19, 2010.
> 
>  **Author's Notes:** Yes, the stories in this series keep getting longer. Tough. Unless you want me to spend yet another year cutting it down further, which is time I simply don't have, you'll have to deal with it as it is. The remaining four stories in the series should be following this one within the next few months.
> 
> Love, hugs, and thanks to Daidairo and Trickksi for being willing to read through the (extremely) messy initial draft(s) of the series, encouraging me to keep working on it, and giving me some helpful pointers to improve it, although any mistakes or typos you find are still solely my fault.
> 
> Also, many, ,i>many thanks to everyone who took the time to read the first two stories and leave feedback on them. This series was written first and foremost for _me_ , because I apparently needed to figure out a few things for myself and this series gave me a way to do that, but if even one other person enjoys it or gets something out of it, then I'll consider it to be a success.
> 
> Oh, and the angel/Chosen/Cruxis/Cruxis Crystal stuff? Most of it I made up based on the few scant, plot hole-laden facts we know from the game. I did do my research by replaying the game after I wrote this, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't blatantly contradict anything. Whether or not it's _right_ , though, is another story. Let's just say it's right in my universe and leave it at that, m'kay?
> 
> And now, on with the show!

0~*~0

 **Part 1: The Invitation**

Dropping by Mizuho to see Sheena had seemed like a great idea when he'd first made his decision to do so. But now, after ten minutes spent explaining to the guard at the gate why he was there (which would have been easier to do if he had a reason beyond, " _Oh, I'm just saying 'hi' to your future chief_ "), and _especially_ now, with a scowling Orochi bearing down on him, Zelos was having second thoughts about it.

This morning was the first time in the two months they'd been dating that he'd taken Sheena up on her invitation to drop by anytime he felt like it. He'd been here plenty of times before this, usually to keep a 'scheduled appointment' (a.k.a. 'date') with her or to deliver a message from the king, but in the former case, she'd always known he was coming and told her people to let him in, and in the latter, he had proof in the form of a letter. Even then, though, he still had to provide the guard a detailed explanation of his reason for being there - and if it didn't match Sheena's exactly, Orochi was called in to deal with him. In fact, the only reason he'd gotten inside this time was because he'd lucked out and the guard had been Atsuo, a young man who Sheena had previously yelled at for _not_ letting him in, and he seemed to fear Sheena's wrath as much as Zelos once had; the other guard, a tough, burly ninja who never met his eyes and barely said a word and yet always made it clear Zelos wouldn't get past him, never would have let him. That didn't stop Atsuo from demanding an explanation, though, and Zelos had finally managed to cajole him enough to earn entry, mainly by convincing him if he _didn't_ let him through, Sheena would be pissed and would take out her frustrations on Atsuo himself.

Now, though, he'd scaled that obstacle only to find himself facing a worse one: Orochi. Ever since the first time he'd dropped by here to pick up Sheena before heading to Iselia on the king's predictably unsuccessful attempt to convince the Iselians to submit to his control, Orochi had been a bear to deal with - and Zelos didn't know why. During the regeneration journey, Orochi had always acted fine toward him - distrustful, yes, and had often glared at him, especially whenever Zelos had flirted with the female residents - but the moment their journey had ended, he'd turned into the King of Cold, radiating impatience, annoyance, and disgust whenever he saw him and doing everything he could to keep Zelos out of Mizuho. And that first time he'd come here...Zelos quickly pushed that thought aside, not wanting to remember the 'heated discussion' Orochi and Sheena had had over him while he'd stood by, listening to every word, tempted to run. Regardless, Zelos had been hoping to sneak through Mizuho to Sheena's house without being detected by Orochi, but his luck wasn't holding out. It matched his crappy day perfectly, actually.

No wonder he avoided this place so much. Between the drama with Orochi and the guard, he didn't feel comfortable coming here, even to see Sheena. He'd _never_ felt comfortable here; even before their journey had ended, he'd always felt out of place here, like a fish out of water or an angel fallen from heaven stuck wandering around in a strange, foreign, deadly land. And he wouldn't be here today, either, only he really _had_ had a crappy day, and his desire to see his girlfriend, especially since he hadn't seen her in days, had won out over common sense. Well, that and another matter had come up that he needed to discuss with her, but that could have waited until their scheduled date in Meltokio tomorrow night. He wasn't regretting succumbing to his yearning to see her yet, but he suspected, based on the fire raging in Orochi's dark eyes, he soon would be.

"Chosen," Orochi greeted him, stopping in front of him and folding his arms to his chest.

Zelos sighed and bowed his head in greeting. _Be nice, no matter how much this guy's attitude makes you want to kick a tree_ , he told himself. _You're here because Sheena's here, and since things are going really, really well with her, you've earned the right to say 'hi' to your girlfriend whenever you feel like it, even if this guy will hopefully never realize that fact._ "Orochi."

Orochi eyed him, his lips pursed. "So why are you here this time? Sheena said nothing about you visiting her today."

Ugh, _again_ with that question: _'Why are you here_?' And, worse, again with that _tone_ , the one that said, _'You're bothering me, so go home, you despicable little child.'_ Zelos _had_ been making a concerted effort to behave himself here since he and Sheena had started dating, and so hadn't Orochi realized yet that the accusations he'd leveled at him that first time weren't an issue anymore? And seriously, what other reason could he fathom to explain why Zelos _would_ come here? Because he loved the village and the threats and glares he received here so much that he chose this place over, say, the Hot Springs or Altamira to unwind? Yeah, right. Although maybe that wasn't _completely_ untrue...

...But right now, that wasn't important. No, right now he apparently had to spell out - _again_ \- what _should_ be completely obvious. "To see Sheena. Any idea where she is?"

Orochi's eyes narrowed. "Even if I knew, I would not tell you. I do not like you, I do not trust you, and I do not want you anywhere near her."

 _...So much for subtlety_. And here Zelos had thought ninjas prided themselves in keeping their emotions in check. Well, except for Sheena, who _tried_ to hide her emotions, but she usually failed more often than not, especially when her anger or embarrassment was roused. But damn, was he sick of people hating him for who he _used_ to be, the man the church had forced him to be, rather than for the man he was trying to be now. He was trying to shake that old image, because Sheena had made it clear she liked him far more when he _wasn't_ acting like that, but convincing others he was trying to be a better man was starting to look hopeless. Usually he didn't even bother trying to change their views; acting like the idiot everyone expected was so much easier than beating his head against a wall when he said something not-stupid and they gaped at him as if his hair had suddenly turned green. Or was the problem _him_ , that he was just that unlikable? With most people, he didn't give a rat's ass what they thought of him. But here...well, he didn't care what _Orochi_ thought of him, but the fear always nagged at him that if he messed up too badly here, he could be denied entry into the village. And not being able to see Sheena regularly...well, that was something he never wanted to experience firsthand.

"Believe me, Orochi, you've made that abundantly clear. Now can I please get through so I can try to find her since you obviously won't help me do that?" Orochi immediately stepped forward as Zelos moved to step around him, again blocking his path. Zelos rolled his eyes and frowned, but he did stop. Pushing his luck too much would just result in him finding a stray shuriken 'accidentally' embedded in his skull. And he'd asked nicely, too! With a sigh, he mirrored Orochi's stance, folding his arms to his chest. The ninja obviously had something to say; might as well get it over with. "What? Your guard already let me in, so if you've got something else to say to me, say it. I don't have all day, y'know."

Orochi's eyes trailed over his body, his disgust obvious. "I do not know what Sheena believes she sees in you, Chosen, why she tolerates your presence here, but whatever it is, I know it is not the truth about you. You may have fooled her, but you cannot fool me."

 _And here we go again. Déjà vu. Just remember, Wilder, actions speak louder than words. You could defend yourself until you're blue in the face and it won't get you anywhere; Orochi apparently has an unshakable preconceived notion about you based on your reputation, and nothing you say will change that. If you really want him to accept that you aren't a manipulative bastard - even if you are with most things other than Sheena herself - you have to prove that in your actions._ "I suppose that's your prerogative, to believe what you want to about me," he said.

Orochi lifted his head, observing Zelos through eyes that were mere slits. "Just as it is my prerogative to express my concerns to Chief Igaguri, which I have now done and will do so again shortly."

Oh, lovely. So now Orochi wasn't the only one here who hated him; Chief Igaguri most likely did, too. And if Chief Igaguri hated him...his heart sank further. Great. So much for his free pass into Mizuho. Not that it surprised him. He'd been expecting it to be revoked for two months now. Maybe coming here today really _hadn't_ been a good idea. "Of course you have," Zelos muttered. "I would've been surprised if you hadn't."

A single eyebrow rose beneath the blue mask obscuring Orochi's face. "You would be wise to leave her alone."

 _Uh huh. Sure. I'll just dump her and go on my merry way because_ _ **you**_ _told me to_. _Yeah_ , _**right**_. There was as much chance of _that_ happening as there was of him sprouting gills and turning into a fish. Granted, he _had_ sprouted wings and turned into an angel, but he was pretty sure his Cruxis Crystal wouldn't turn him into a fish. And giving up _Sheena_ , one of, if not _the_ , best things that had ever happened to him? Someone who made him happy when he was with her and who always seemed happy to be with him? Someone he fell more in love with every time he saw her? Someone so strong, gorgeous, sexy, and amazing that two months later he was still marveling that she was dating him at all? Someone who believed in him and, in the process, made him want to be a better man for her sake - and, in doing so, was helping him find a part of himself that he actually didn't hate? Someone who loved _him,_ despite his stupidity and perversity and many other flaws, and not the Chosen persona every other woman expected from him?

"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen."

Orochi watched him closely a moment, his eyes growing colder and his face twitching in growing anger. "So you _have_ seduced her into entering into a romantic relationship with you," he growled. "I feared as much."

Aw, _crap_. They'd been doing so well keeping their relationship quiet here, too. But then, it had been inevitable someone would eventually figure it out, what with Zelos's regular appearances here. He'd just hoped it wouldn't be _Orochi_ who deduced the truth. And for a moment, Zelos wondered if Sheena was aware Orochi had suspected they were dating. Something told him she wasn't, because if she was, she would've warned him about it.

Regardless, it was too late now; the damage was done. He refused to answer the accusation honestly, because that would result in Orochi slicing his throat - Orochi should hear that from Sheena since at least he couldn't kill her - but then, Zelos couldn't deny it, either, for fear Orochi would kill him for lying. The vague path it was, then. He cocked his head and shrugged, giving Orochi a wry grin. "No offense, Orochi, but I don't think whether we're in a romantic relationship or not is any of your business."

 _Okay, that didn't work_ , Zelos realized as the fire in Orochi's eyes flared further and he took an intimidating step closer. "That is where you are wrong, Chosen. Sheena's future _is_ my 'business.' _Someone_ must be concerned with it since you clearly are not, and because she is so blinded by your flashiness and smooth lies, she is not either." He tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing again. "Tell me, what is it you seek from her? Sex? Another toy for you to play with and then discard when you tire of her, as you do with every other woman unfortunate enough to be ensnared by your charms? Someone foolish and naïve who you can hurt again, as you did to her the last time?"

Zelos's gut twisted at that last one, but he quickly brushed it aside, because wallowing in a guilt that would never completely go away would get him nowhere, especially when Sheena had made it clear she'd forgiven him for that. Besides, this wasn't the first time Orochi had accused him of those things, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. He was just glad Sheena hadn't heard it; the last time Orochi had done so and she had, she'd nearly blown a gasket and had taken it personally, as Orochi questioning her and her decisions. If she'd been here now, Zelos was afraid of what she might have done.

"No to all of those," he said coolly. "I'm not looking for anything from her. I just care about her and enjoy spending time with her."

"So you say," Orochi said with a disbelieving huff. "But if you really did care about her, you _would_ leave her alone, since staying with her _is_ hurting her. Do you really see a future for yourself with her? What do you think, that she will run away from her responsibilities here to be with someone like _you_ , as a boy like yourself would do in her position? She will not. She will become chief soon; I expect Chief Igaguri to remain chief no more than a year before transferring the title to her. You do not even know what that means, do you? What that involves? How much will be demanded of her? She will need to find a husband before that happens, one who will not only assume a role of authority here, but who will share in her responsibilities and help her meet those demands. Do you really think she would consider _you_ , an irresponsible, lazy boy who has run from responsibilities his entire life, for such an important role? You are not of Mizuho; you do not know our ways; you are not even welcome here. You waste her time by distracting her from finding a man who could give her what she needs, a man who is suitable to be her husband and help her lead Mizuho. If she would quit letting herself be blinded by your charms, Sheena would realize this as well. Mark my words, Chosen: she _will_ eventually realize this, and when she does, she will make the right choice, one that does not include you."

Zelos eyed Orochi carefully. Hm. That was...well, he didn't know _what_ to think of that. Sure, Sheena had told him some of it when they'd started dating, but Orochi had just given him far more information than she had. But right _now_ wasn't the time to be considering that; he wasn't ready to deal with it or try to figure out whether Orochi was telling the truth or trying another tactic to scare him away. So, to that end, he filed away those huge pieces of information in the back of his mind. He would consider them later, when he didn't have to worry about Orochi seeing him with his guard down.

He arched an eyebrow, keeping his face set. "Are you finished?"

Orochi nodded curtly. "I have said what needed to be said."

 _Well, good. Now_ _ **I**_ _have something to say to_ _ **you**_ _, Orochi, because thanks to your little rant - and some of the looks I've seen you giving Sheena - certain things are starting to make sense now_. This probably wasn't a smart thing to ask, but as Sheena's boyfriend, he needed to know. "So what about you, then, hm? What's _your_ angle on this, Orochi? What do _you_ want from her? I'm trying to figure out if this is just big brother over-protectiveness or if there's something more going on here than even Sheena knows, like that maybe you're gunning for her attention so you can fill that role yourself and you just want me out of the picture so you'll have an easier time getting it."

Instantly, something flashed through Orochi's eyes, anger mixed with...well, Zelos wasn't sure _what_ it was, maybe the ninja equivalent of _'Whoops, I've been busted,'_ but it confirmed his hunch. And, what was more, it seemed to throw Orochi off his guard, since he took a step backwards, temporarily relinquishing the fight. "I need not explain myself to you," he stated defiantly, eyeing Zelos again. "I will never understand why she still tolerates you after all you have done to her, but for whatever reason, she does, at least for now. Just rest assured that when you hurt her again, because I know you will..."

"You'll kill me. Don't worry, I got that message loud and clear."

Orochi lifted his head, giving Zelos another pointed look. "Leave, Chosen. As soon as you can, before she becomes too attached to you. And by all means, do not come back."

And with one last glare, Orochi turned and stalked away, leaving Zelos watching him go, for the second time that day having to bite back a scream of frustration. Martel, what did he have to do to be accepted as _himself_ and not be judged based on the man he _used_ to be? Agh, that was _not_ what he'd needed after the awful morning he'd had. Everywhere he went lately, he felt like a pest, like an unwanted rodent everyone wanted to stomp on and kick into the sewers. He'd always had enemies, partially because of the Chosen One act, partially because of his title, and partially because he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, and he'd come to accept long ago that those people would never like him, no matter what he did. Today, though, this animosity was just _eating_ at him, probably because the reason behind it was because - Martel forbid! - he was truly _happy_ for the first time in his life.

Damn it, it wasn't fair. Why did it seem like everyone was conspiring to take everything good away from him? Were they jealous of the happiness he'd found with Sheena? Was that it, that they wanted it for themselves, and if they couldn't have it, then neither could he? Why couldn't they find their own happiness and leave his alone? For a moment he was tempted to turn around, head back to his mansion, grab a bottle of whiskey, throw himself a pity party, and get completely wasted in hopes of forgetting about this messed-up day...but he was already here, and really, the only way he knew of that was guaranteed to perk up his spirits in a non-self destructive manner was seeing Sheena, and so that was what he would do. Albeit preferably after punching a wall to alleviate the worst of his anger so he wouldn't inadvertently wreck her day along with his.

Zelos scanned the village, reminding himself that physically venting his anger wasn't a good idea in a place where he'd most likely be drawn and quartered for vandalism...and, without warning, his eyes fell on a boy half-hidden in the shadows of a nearby house. He couldn't be more than twelve years old, his hair and eyes as dark as everyone else's here, but what caught Zelos's attention was the fact that the boy was watching him. Most of the villagers here, after that first time he'd been yelled at by Orochi, always ignored him and refused to look at him; either it was a cultural, politeness thing, or they thought by pretending he wasn't there, he'd actually disappear. But this boy was outright _staring_ at him, with an expression that indicated not disgust or hatred, but rather curiosity and interest. Zelos's eyes narrowed slightly, unsure why this kid was paying attention to him when no one else did, but the second he realized Zelos was watching him, he turned and ducked behind the house. Huh. That was...odd. And, even odder, Zelos remembered seeing the same kid doing something similar a few times before this, too.

But then, kids had always found him fascinating, and since his main concern was finding Sheena, he pushed the oddity from his mind. Taking a deep breath, grateful for the distraction that had disarmed the worst of his frustration, he started heading toward her house, the first logical place to look for her. By the time he'd taken three steps, though, his mind had already returned to everything Orochi had just said. Orochi's 'holier than thou' attitude may be aggravating, but that didn't erase the fact that he'd just made some valid points that warranted consideration. A single year...oh, Martel, was _that_ all the time Sheena had left before she became chief? He'd thought for sure she'd have at least a _few_ years before that happened; after all, Igaguri was as healthy as a typical 20-year-old! Was Orochi really right about that? He'd _seemed_ to mean it, but how could he _know_ that? Well, depending on the conversations he'd had with Igaguri, Zelos supposed he really _could_ know that. But did _Sheena_ know that? She'd never mentioned a timeframe; in fact, in the past two months, she'd barely mentioned her impending chiefhood at all. Zelos wasn't sure what that meant, but he couldn't erase the possibility that Orochi had been telling the truth. After all, even if he was jealous, Orochi had no reason to lie about it.

But if Orochi was right, then what? _Was_ he wasting Sheena's time by dating her? If she only had a year left to find a husband - one that apparently played a bigger role in Mizuho than Zelos had thought - then shouldn't she be doing that instead of dating him? And that, naturally, begged the question: where _was_ their relationship going, really? Anywhere? Nowhere? Not even considering this whole Mizuho-husband thing, was marriage even a possibility for them? Zelos was definitely serious about their relationship, and Sheena seemed to be, too, but would he ever consider marrying her? Would she ever consider marrying him? The thought of marriage, while appealing in some ways, was also terrifying, being committed to one woman for the rest of his life, not to mention all the responsibilities that came with it. And then to consider that if he married her, he'd have to move here, and take on this 'role of leadership'... _no_. He could barely even fathom that, and he couldn't imagine Sheena could, either. But if their relationship was serious, as it sure seemed to be, then the only possibilities were that one day they'd have to get married, or they'd have to break off their relationship. He'd known that for months now.

The problem was, as unthinkable as marriage was, breaking off their relationship was even worse. He _loved_ her; that was why he was here today, because when he was with her, he felt better, about life and himself. Breaking it off with her would mean sacrificing that, and he'd go back to feeling lonely, unwanted, and miserable. But if he couldn't break up with her, then that meant he was setting himself up for that other possibility, that one day they'd have to get married. Did he really think he could fill that role in her life if this relationship continued that far? Even if _he_ did - which was something he definitely couldn't say - would _Sheena_ accept him in that capacity? He had no idea. And seriously, they'd only been dating two months. Who started seriously considering marriage after only _two months_? Well, he was sure _some_ couples did, but he had too questionable of a view of marriage - his parents' hadn't been a shining example of a happy, successful marriage, after all - to even think about risking their relationship with something that dangerous. And really, his gut was telling him no, he would never be able to accept such a role or such responsibilities, not for a place like this that hated him. But on the flip side, he couldn't dismiss the option entirely, either, when the alternative was just as unacceptable.

Zelos let out a low sigh, unsettled by both options, then started walking faster as he realized he was loitering in the street. As much as he hated to admit it, Orochi's concerns were valid, and he had to give it serious thought. One thing he did know was that he didn't want to waste Sheena's time if 'they' were going nowhere, because doing that, giving her false hope about the future when there was none, wouldn't be fair to her. In fact, he'd never forgive himself for hurting her like that, by taking away the time she needed to find a suitable spouse. But if this was a major concern of hers, wouldn't she have broken it off with him already? Or at least mentioned it to him and expressed her concern? Unless she really wasn't aware of the timeline Orochi had just presented him, a possibility he couldn't dismiss - although he still would've thought she'd have said _something_ if she already knew 'they' were doomed. She really did seem to love him; why would she drag this out, either, if she already knew there was no hope?

He didn't know, and to be honest, it was too early in their relationship to be thinking like this; a lot could still happen that changed everything, and the last thing he wanted to do was wreck their relationship without just cause. No, all he could do was trust that if Sheena really did have concerns about the future, she would discuss them with him, because if she didn't, he could only interpret her silence to mean she either hadn't considered it, which he seriously doubted was possible, or she was willing to consider him in that capacity. No matter the case, though, he _would_ think on this later and, if necessary, set a deadline for himself to decide whether or not he thought he could handle this, just to make sure if he _did_ conclude it wasn't possible, he still gave her enough time to find someone else. And if he passed that deadline and stayed with her, then he'd be admitting he was okay with what might happen should 'they' continue. It wasn't like he had to make any major, life- or relationship-altering decisions yet, but he did have to at least decide whether or not to keep walking this road knowing what the end point would be should 'they' last that long.

Right now, though, he didn't want to think about that; he just wanted to _see_ her. As horrible and confused as he felt, leaving before doing that would make him feel even worse, and chances were someone would mention his visit to her and, when she learned he hadn't said 'hi,' it would hurt her again, and he couldn't do that. Seeing her and making her smile was one of the few things that could pick up his spirits when he was feeling down, and since he liked being happy and hated being sad, that was what he would do.

Finding her proved to be easier than he'd expected. The minute he stepped around Chief Igaguri's home, he saw her, sitting on the ground in front of her house. She was digging in the dirt along the edge of the house with a trowel, her back to him, humming softly to herself - and instantly, he could feel his frustration, uncertainty, and tension relaxing. He approached her, keeping his footsteps quiet so she wouldn't notice him, and then smiled as he stopped a few feet away, watching her. A small pile of plant bulbs sat on the ground to her left - ah, so she was planting. He watched her place one of the bulbs in a hole and then cover it with dirt and pat it down, and then she scooted a foot to her right, dragging the bulbs with her, and began digging again.

He indulged in the sight a moment until he could no longer resist. "Whatcha doin'?"

Unsurprisingly - and yet surprisingly, since she was usually alert to every sound around her - Sheena jumped a little, then quickly turned to look at him. The second she saw him, though, a beautiful smile lit her face...and Zelos's heart pounded faster at knowing she was actually _happy_ to see him. "Zelos! I didn't know you were coming here today."

He grinned and cocked his head a little. "Good to see you too, sweetheart."

She laughed softly, her head dipping downward, but without warning, her eyes snapped up to his and widened, her face falling. "I didn't forget a date, did I?"

Zelos chuckled as he shook his head and waved that off, then sat down on the ground beside her. "Nah, you didn't forget anything. I was just missing you and thought I'd take you up on the offer to stop by and see you whenever I felt like it." He arched an eyebrow, his uncertainty flaring again. "That offer _is_ still open, right?"

"Of course it is," she said, her smile growing endearingly shy as she set the shovel on the ground and turned to face him. "I'm glad to see you."

"Heh, at least _someone_ is." Instantly, her eyes narrowed, and Zelos gave her a sheepish smile as he realized what he'd just done. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

A curious but amused eyebrow shot up. "Ah...yeah, you did."

Damn. He truly hadn't meant to. "Whoops."

As he'd feared, Sheena continued eyeing him, her concern growing. "Zelos, what's going on? Are you okay?"

Zelos released a low sigh and offered her a weak smile. "Yeah. I am now."

Her eyes narrowed further. "...But you weren't before?" When he opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it again, Sheena extended her hand toward his knee, albeit resting it on the ground, not actually touching him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

 _Don't do it, Wilder; don't bother her with something this stupid. You had a bad day, it's already getting better now that you're with her, and tomorrow will undoubtedly be better; she shouldn't have to worry about something you're determined to forget ever happened_. He forced another smile, hoping that one would come across as more sincere. "Nothing, Sheena. It's nothing."

Sheena frowned, then arched an expectant eyebrow. "Yes, it obviously is. C'mon, Zelos, talk to me. Who wasn't happy to see you?"

How could she do that, figure out when something was bothering him, sidestep his attempts to convince her it was nothing, and then pull the truth out of him, even when he didn't want to? This certainly wasn't the first time she'd done that; heck, they wouldn't be dating at all if she hadn't poked and prodded at him that night at the party until she'd dug out all those secrets of his. While he didn't want to tell her this, because he knew it would upset her, he also knew she wouldn't quit pushing until she got an answer - and the longer it took her to get that answer, the more likely she'd be to get pissed at him for hiding things from her. And he knew damn well he couldn't afford to piss her off or she'd deem him hopeless, dump him, and then refuse to have anything to do with him ever again.

He sighed, his head sinking downward in defeat, then looked up at her again. "Seles has been talking about enrolling at the academy in Sybak for awhile now, and today was her official tour of the grounds to see how she liked it. So I, trying to be, y'know, the good brother I _should_ be, decided to swing by there beforehand to say 'hi' and see if I could answer any of her questions about the place. That was my first mistake. My second mistake was not apologizing, _again_ , for missing that one meeting I'd had scheduled with her two months ago. Y'know, that time I went to Iselia with you instead."

Her eyes narrowed again. "But I thought you already apologized for that."

"Believe me, I did, multiple times, and I explained in great detail why I had to go with you, but she's still not letting it go." _Because Martel forbid the deceptively angelic brat let_ _ **anything**_ _I do go,_ _ **ever**_ _. Or, for that matter, approve of any choice I make. Never mind that Sheena and I had a wonderful time on that trip - aside from searching for a way to broach such a stupid subject with the Iselians, of course._ "My third mistake..."

Sheena's eyebrows rose. "There's _more_?"

Zelos grinned wryly. She would probably smack him for this, but it was too late now. What he'd done couldn't be undone. "Oh, yeah, there's more. My third mistake was mentioning I was seriously dating someone...and my fourth mistake was telling her that 'someone' I was seriously dating was you."

Unsurprisingly, her face instantly fell, and a moment later her head sank downward. "Wonderful."

"Yeah, tell me about it," he muttered.

He really had had good intentions in telling Seles about Sheena, to try to get her to see Sheena the same way he did, as someone worthy of his time; he should've expected her to overreact, start calling Sheena names, and try to convince him that she 'wasn't good enough' for someone of his social standing. And, worse, she'd refused to have anything to do with Sheena herself. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why Seles hated her so much; he just knew she always had, to the point of even stalking Sheena awhile back to keep her away from him. Why, oh why, hadn't he just bitten his tongue?

But no, he'd _tried_ to be honest with her only for her to get pissed at him, and he'd had to cut his visit short because...well, he didn't feel comfortable spending time with someone who disapproved of every choice he made. But if his relationship with Sheena was serious - which it was - then he knew he'd have to tell Seles about it eventually, and if he'd kept it a secret from her only for her to find out about it later from an outside source, wouldn't she have been even _more_ pissed at him? He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. It wasn't fair. He'd been hoping to help her find a place outside of the abbey to live, maybe even move her into his mansion, but after how things had played out that morning, he wasn't sure he had the heart to do so anymore - nor the patience to put up with more snide, snobbish comments from her about his 'trashy' girlfriend. It upset him enough when strangers looked down on Sheena like that, but for the person badmouthing her to be his own _sister_...he wasn't sure he could stomach much of that without blowing up at her and wrecking their relationship further. And they'd been doing so well patching up things between them after their world trip, too. Now it appeared they were right back at square one.

"I should've just kept my big mouth shut and not said anything, but I figured she would find out about us once she moved out of the abbey anyway so I was better off getting that conversation out of the way." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Sheena."

"Hey, it's okay," Sheena quickly said. "I never expected she'd be _happy_ about this."

"...Which makes absolutely no sense to me. Why in Tethe'alla does she hate you so much? I don't get it. Before the regeneration journey, she'd never even _met_ you! And even if she'd thought back then that you were one of my hunnies, that still gives her no reason to hate you now!"

Sheena shrugged and smiled faintly. "Overly protective younger sister, maybe? I dunno, but then, I don't get why Orochi has so many issues with you, either. I guess some people are just difficult like that. They like who they like; they don't like who they don't like. I'm sure they have their reasons, even if I'll never understand them."

Zelos snorted and rolled his eyes. As much as he hated telling her this, too, she needed to know that Orochi had figured out they were dating. "Yeah...and then there's Orochi."

Her face fell again. "Oh, don't tell me..."

"Eh, just another typical interrogation from him, that's all," he interrupted, waving that off before she could jump to disturbing conclusions. And while that conversation _had_ been disturbing, it was disturbing on a different level than normal, one he wasn't currently willing to discuss. "Y'know, the whole, _'why are you here, I can't stand you, get out now'_ thing."

Sheena's brown eyes briefly flared, but a moment later they softened and she gave him a faint but sincere smile. "Well, regardless of what Orochi thinks, I really am glad to see you, Zelos. I've missed you, too. I'll talk to him - _again_ \- and tell him to lay off it. He's already made his feelings known, and they won't change anything between us."

Zelos shook his head. "Hey, don't worry about it. Orochi is just looking out for you. I can't hold _that_ against him, can I? And...well, talking to him might not be such a good idea anyway. It was obvious he's figured out that we're dating." Unsurprisingly, her eyes widened, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. "I take it you didn't know?"

She groaned, her head sinking downward. "No, I didn't."

"Yeah, I didn't think you had or you would've said something. I'm sorry; I didn't realize he suspected that or I would've been more careful what I said so he couldn't read that into my words."

"It's not your fault, Zelos," she quickly replied, giving him another faint smile. "And I'm sorry, too. I'm sure I'm just as responsible for him figuring it out as you are, considering some of the things I've said to him lately."

He smiled reassuringly. "Not your fault, either, sweetheart. You can't control him."

"Believe me, I wish I could," she muttered. She bit her lip, thinking that over, then released a soft sigh. "So he probably went to Grandpa about that, too."

"Oh, I guarantee you he did. And he's planning on talking to him again now that he knows about us." Seeing her frown, close her eyes, and shake her head, though, Zelos realized it was time to change the subject. "But that's enough of that. I didn't come here to be depressed and to depress you in turn. I just wanted to see you again." Sheena's eyes opened and lifted to his, watching him a moment, but then she smiled and nodded. He grinned and motioned at the hole she'd been digging. "So what _are_ you doing?"

As he'd hoped, her smile broadened into a grin and her eyebrows rose. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing? I'm planting bulbs."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I caught _that_ part. What _kind_ of bulbs are you planting?"

A blush blossomed on her cheeks as her head dipped downward shyly - which surprised him since he wasn't sure why she was suddenly feeling so shy with him. "Iris."

Ah. No surprise there; Zelos had certainly caught her paying enough attention to the iris in his garden the past two months, and even a few times before that, too. He'd always suspected she really liked iris, maybe even that they were her favorite flower. This just confirmed his hunch. He smiled in approval. "Pretty flower. Nice choice. What color?"

"A deep purplish-blue," she said, glancing briefly at him before looking back at the trowel, running her dirt-streaked thumb over its handle. "I'd like to make another row of lighter purple or blue ones in front of this one, but no one in Mizuho has any bulbs or rhizomes that color, so it'll just have to wait until I can get some."

"Mm." _Note to self: ask Sebastian where the gardener got the iris in my garden - or maybe see if the he can dig up enough from my garden to give to her._ His eyes narrowed slightly. "It's already fall, though...are you sure _now_ is the best time to be planting them?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Sheena replied, lifting her eyes to his again. "Iris are supposed to be planted in the fall so they can establish decent roots before the cold season hits."

...Oh. Of course. Why hadn't _he_ thought of that? He smiled sheepishly. "Heh. Shows how much _I_ know about iris." She chuckled, and he motioned at the trowel. "So you have any more little shovel thingies like that so I can lend a hand?"

Her eyebrows flew upward as if he'd just stated that cows grew on trees. " _You_ are actually volunteering to get your pretty hands all dirty helping me plant these?"

"Of course I am!" He grinned wickedly. "The sooner you finish, the sooner I can get you inside and get a kiss!"

Unsurprisingly, her cheeks reddened and she burst out laughing. If they weren't outside in Mizuho, he just knew she would've smacked him. "Zelos, you are _incorrigible_!"

He waggled his eyebrows, his grin broadening. "Yeah...I know."

Sheena shook her head in obvious amazement and amusement mixed with a hint of embarrassment and exasperation, but she was still chuckling, too. "Heaven forbid you help me because you _want_ to."

"Well, there's that too," he said with a shrug, but then he pointed at her face. "But the _main_ reason is there's a streak of dirt across your forehead that's gonna drive me nuts because I can't wipe it off without being lynched for 'indecently' touching you."

Her eyes widened and her blush deepened, and her hand instantly lifted to her forehead and she rubbed at it with the heel of her palm. To his amusement, though, all she managed to do was smear it further and turn what had been a small streak into what now looked like an upside-down heart. "Did I get it?"

Oh, did she look adorable. It took all of his effort not to laugh again. "Um...no. You're actually making it worse." He smirked and tilted his head, tapping his finger to his lips. "Although on you, I kinda like it. Girls who like rolling around in dirt are so sexy and primal..."

Sheena groaned and rolled her eyes, but she couldn't conceal her laugh as she rose to her feet. "That's it, I'm getting you a shovel and cleaning off my face. Wait here and guard my bulbs; I'll be right back."

He playfully bowed his head to her. "Your wish is my command, my lady."

She was still grinning as she headed into her house, Zelos noted, mirroring her grin. Once she was out of sight, he took a deep breath, pulled off his gloves, tossed them on the ground, and leaned back on his hands, looking around the village. Not much was going on here today - not that there was ever much going on here. A few people were walking around and he could hear the clink of weapons as ninjas trained on the outskirts of the village, but that was one thing he always noted about this village: how quiet it was. In Meltokio, there were always people bustling about, looking for the best dress to buy and showing off their latest trendy accessories. Soldiers in heavy metal armor were always tromping around there; priests from the Church of Martel were always calling people to services; kids were always running around, pretending to be their favorite coliseum fighter; merchants were always crying out, trying to entice people to buy their wares. In some senses the quiet here was unnerving...and yet it really _wasn't_ , either.

After all, sound wasn't the only thing toned down here; Mizuho was also slower in pace, even though he knew everyone was busy working to make the village thrive. The _rush_ of Meltokio was missing, as were the hunnies constantly trying to drag him home with them and the Chosen admirers constantly begging for his blessing or his autograph. But more than that, what was missing here was the fakeness and flaunting and conspiring to tear others down so someone could get ahead. Mizuho reminded him a little of the Meltokio slums, actually, because these people were more realistic and earthy in their lifestyle. The difference from the slums, though, was that no one here was crying about how unfair life had been to them and pleading for someone to 'save' them from their condition. These people were happy with who they were and proud of what they accomplished, even without the wealth or luxuries he was so accustomed to.

It was peaceful here. Mizuho was a simple, honest, _real_ place. Sure, it had tons of weird, and in his opinion unnecessary, traditions and far too many distrustful glares aimed his way, but it was still peaceful. Relaxing, even. Ever since his first visit here, he'd had to admit there were parts of this mysterious village he actually liked. And Sheena...well, she belonged here. She fit this place. Even if she had her own issues with its way of doing things, Mizuho was definitely her home, and it was where her heart was and would always be...a realization which, again, just reinforced that Orochi hadn't told him anything untrue earlier. Sheena _would_ become chief here; Zelos didn't doubt that. Issues with it or not, she loved this village and was determined to give back to it everything it had given her when she'd had nothing, a people and a family and a place of her own. She would do everything she could to make up for the ill she had brought it, and one day she would make sure it thrived. But did _he_ have a place in that future? _Could_ he even have a place in it, here in this quiet, strange village, should their relationship continue? He honestly had no idea.

With a sigh, he let his gaze drift around the village again, taking it all in, trying unsuccessfully to picture himself here...and his heart sank as he noticed Chief Igaguri standing outside his home, watching Zelos closely. And, worse, a second later he spotted Orochi walking toward the chief. Igaguri bowed his head as Orochi neared and began speaking to him...and the way both sets of eyes snapped sharply in Zelos's direction told him exactly what Orochi was talking about. Zelos quickly looked away, his discomfort returning. _That_ hadn't taken long; obviously Orochi was following through on his promise to further express his 'concerns' to the chief. Crap. So today _could_ get worse.

Grabbing the trowel Sheena had left behind, he lifted it and ran his thumb over the edge, pretending to be fascinated by it. Well, on the bright side, Orochi's talk with Igaguri might just answer his question for him, without making him struggle to find an answer of his own. Even assuming Zelos wanted a life like this with Sheena, one full of unfamiliar duties, activities, and tools like this simple shovel, a life he had serious doubts about, apparently peaceful places like Mizuho were off limits to flashy train wrecks like him. Mizuho might tolerate their own train wrecks - Kuchinawa was always welcome to return, after all, simply because he was one of their own - but it would never put up with a foreign train wreck, of which Zelos was definitely one. Sheena may have invited him to visit her here, but she wasn't chief yet, and that meant Igaguri still had the final say about who could enter his village. And if Igaguri didn't want him here because he believed Zelos and his foreign ideas and ways of life were poison for his adopted granddaughter...well, nothing Sheena could say to defend him would make any difference. This was, after all, the last place where a spoiled, troublesome, idiotic Chosen like him belonged.

Dropping the trowel, he turned again to look at the two men talking near Igaguri's house. Fortunately, they weren't looking at him anymore, but Orochi was still talking very animatedly - no surprise seeing as he was discussing something he was obviously passionate about: Sheena. For a second, Zelos debated trying to listen in on them with his angel senses, but before he could decide whether his already heavy heart could handle hearing their words, another trowel suddenly landed in front of him, and he quickly looked up, relieved to see that Sheena was back, the streak of dirt on her face now gone.

She turned to see what he'd been looking at, then retook her seat on the ground and looked back at him. "Hey, don't worry about it, Zelos. It'll be fine. Honest."

He cast another glance at the two men, then sighed and looked back at her, giving her an uncertain smile. "I hope so." Before she could reply, though, he grabbed the second trowel, pushed his concerns about the future and this place to the back of his mind, and lifted it, his eyebrows rising. "So, since we've already established I'm not an expert on the art of growing iris, you'll have to walk me through this. How deep for the holes?"

Sheena eyed him another moment, her brows furrowing, clearly unhappy about the subject change, but Zelos just waited, watching her expectantly, and finally she sighed and gave him a faint smile. "About four inches."

"Got it. And how far apart are you going with them?"

"A little over half a foot."

"So roughly six inches," he calculated aloud. He shifted so he was facing the house, then glanced at her and grinned. "How 'bout I dig the holes and you plant the bulbs?"

She smiled and nodded. "Sounds good."

It took Zelos a few tries to become comfortable working with the shovel, finding the right way to hold it, the best angle to use, and how much force to apply; while he'd seen his gardener do this plenty of times, he'd never had any reason to try it himself. He could tell Sheena was trying not to laugh at his struggles to get used to digging, but eventually he was using the shovel as easily as he used a dagger. Doing manual labor like this was weird - he hadn't dug in the dirt since he'd been a kid and had been curious to see what a dog had buried in the garden, and even then his mother had yelled at him for getting his clothes and hands dirty, like a 'common peasant,' and he'd never tried again - but in another sense, it felt... _good_...to do something new, especially when it was helping Sheena. And the approving smile she gave him once he'd reached a level of proficiency that no longer required her to correct the size of the hole he was digging gave him an immensely pleased, happy, _valued_ feeling.

After his third hole had passed her inspection without any objections, Zelos relaxed, deciding he really could handle this, and motioned at the wooden wall in front of them. "I still can't believe your village gave you a _house_."

Sheena arched a curious, amused eyebrow at him. "Haven't we had this conversation before?"

 _Twice, actually, since they finished building this thing for you three weeks ago._ "Well, yeah, but I still can't believe it." He grinned and motioned at it again. "I mean, they built this thing for you from scratch within a single month! Now _that's_ dedication."

She released a soft laugh that actually sounded surprisingly strained and placed a bulb in the next hole. "That's because I'm going to be chief one day. It's not like we're going to kick grandpa out of his home just so I can have my own place. Mizuho isn't moving yet, and until we do, they refuse to let their chief live in a hovel. I'll need a place to meet privately with villagers, and that doesn't work when the chief is sharing a home. Well, except with a spouse, of course." She shrugged stiffly as she began filling in the hole with dirt from the nearby pile. "Besides, they said they were grateful for the role I played in reuniting the worlds and in regaining Mizuho's standing with the king."

"They really love you here," he stated, no trace of uncertainty about that in his mind.

A glance at her showed she was blushing again as she scooted down to begin working on the next hole. "Well, some of them seem to have forgiven me for the Volt accident. It helps that Grandpa's back. I just hope I can live up to their faith in me."

Zelos nudged her with his elbow. "You will. Leading a village has to be nothing compared to, y'know, making pacts with all the summon spirits and reuniting two worlds."

She offered him a faint, albeit surprisingly dubious, smile before looking back at the hole. "I hope so."

He wasn't sure why she was so uncertain about that; when Sheena put her mind to something, she excelled at it, and he had no doubt she would give 200% of herself once she became chief. But then, she wouldn't be _Sheena_ if she didn't doubt herself, either. She always had, whether it was making pacts with the summon spirits, living up to her friends' belief in her, or meeting her people's expectations. He wanted to ask her more, like what she planned to do when she became chief, when _she_ thought that might happen, or maybe even if she had any idea who she might consider for her spouse, but he wasn't ready to discuss that when he didn't know where _he_ stood on the matter, and so he wasn't willing to risk wrecking their relationship yet if he wasn't even a consideration in her mind. And since she always seemed to become uncomfortable when the word 'chief' came up, he opted to go a different route instead. Maybe he'd try again another time to see if he could feel out her thoughts, but now clearly wasn't the right time for it.

"Still, I'm jealous," he said, keeping his tone light. "They _gave you a house_! I mean, I get _edible body paints_ from my loyal, devoted fan club, and you get a _house_. I see a slight discrepancy in the level of gifts there."

Her eyebrows shot upward, and thankfully, a grin began building on her lips. "Yeah, well, _you're_ not becoming chief of Meltokio."

Zelos tilted his head and pretended to weigh the options with his hands. "Edible body paints...house. Nope, the house is still the unquestioned winner in this, especially one this nice."

Sheena shot him a mock glare. "Quit being jealous of my house. You already have one!"

"So?" he replied, shrugging. "If my hunnies really loved me, they'd give me a house, too!"

She let out a single laugh, then shook her head. "Yeah, whatever. At least you have your own gardener and interior decorator. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all of my empty walls. It took me three weeks just to decide what to do with the front of my house!"

"Hey, if you'd like some decorating tips, let me know," he said, unable to resist smirking. "I'd be more than happy to offer some suggestions."

She grinned wryly and arched an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "While I appreciate the offer, I'll have to pass. I'm not exactly keen on the idea of putting pictures of _naked women_ on my walls."

Zelos gasped in exaggerated shock and placed his hand over his heart. "But, sweetheart, I would _never_ make such a suggestion!" Ooh, he couldn't pass this by; it was just too tempting. He beamed her a wicked grin and pointed at her with his trowel. "Now, naked pictures of _you_ , on the other hand, hold great potential."

For a moment, Sheena just gaped at him, but then she grabbed one of her bulbs and tossed it at him, hitting his forehead squarely above his nose. Zelos jumped and closed his eyes at the impact, uttering an instinctive " _Not the face!_ " and lifting his hand to protect himself from any further projectiles. She immediately burst into beautiful, heart-warming laughter, muttering about how he was an idiot and it served him right that now _he_ had a streak of mud on his forehead, and Zelos couldn't help it: he joined her. _Mission accomplished: Sheena's happy,_ he thought, giving himself a mental pat on the back. A moment later he picked up the bulb and handed it back to her, then resumed digging, chuckling along with her. And even though a quick glance showed that Chief Igaguri was still watching them from his home - at least Orochi had finished complaining - Zelos still found himself feeling far better than he had an hour ago. Being with Sheena and making her smile and laugh like this made _him_ happy, and oh, had he needed to feel happy today. Crazy, confusing, uncertain future for them or not, how could he even _think_ of walking away when she held such incredible, irresistible power to make him feel good about himself?

 _Live in the present_ , he told himself. _Whatever will be, will be. Just keep doing what you want and need to do and worry about the rest later. You have roughly a year left before she becomes chief; while you can't hide from reality, you don't have to figure it all out yet, either. And you will, because not figuring it out and, as a result, hurting her simply isn't an option._

They fell silent as they continued planting, but an occasional glance at her told Zelos she was still grinning. In fact, he was so entranced by how beautiful that smile was that he didn't even notice anyone else had approached them until, without warning, a man cleared his throat somewhere nearby. Both instantly started, and a quick look upward showed that Chief Igaguri was now standing behind them, his arms folded to his chest as he watched them. Aw, _crap_. Zelos's heart plummeted. There went his improving mood and all sense of contentment; Igaguri was the _last_ person he wanted to see right now. This couldn't go well; while he'd seen Igaguri around Mizuho a few times the past two months, he'd never talked to him. Now, though, he couldn't avoid him anymore and would undoubtedly have to face his disapproval and be told to drag his sorry ass out of the village ASAP. Damn it. Zelos glanced at Sheena, who looked mildly surprised at the intrusion but not concerned, then he wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand, hoping to clean off the dirt splotch so he didn't look like a _complete_ idiot.

"Sheena," Igaguri said, greeting her with a warm, tender smile.

She returned his smile shyly. "Hi, Grandpa."

Igaguri's eyes snapped next to Zelos, and his smile transformed from fond tenderness to merely pleasant. "Chosen."

Zelos bowed his head faintly, forcibly resisting the urge to rub his neck for fear of getting more dirt all over himself. "Chief Igaguri."

Igaguri glanced up at the sky, then back down at Zelos. "Lovely day, is it not?"

Whoa, was Igaguri actually talking to him? Like, normal small talk? Zelos wasn't sure whether this was a positive development or the beginning of the end. And damn, was he nervous. There was something about this man, something intimidating, that commanded respect from everyone he met. Normally, Zelos didn't give two hoots about showing his elders respect, but there was no way he'd give Igaguri even more reason to hate him by _not_ respecting him.

...Oh, right. He needed to answer the question. "Yeah, definitely," he said, smiling awkwardly. "It's beautiful. Couldn't ask for a nicer fall day."

Igaguri bowed his head in agreement. "No, you could not. So, tell me, how is the king?"

Zelos's eyes narrowed curiously. "He's good. No problems worth mentioning."

"Mm," Igaguri murmured with a faint nod. "And the church?"

Why was Igaguri asking so many questions? He never had before. "Things there are a mess, but then, things there are _always_ a mess, so that's nothing new."

"No, I suppose not. And Meltokio?"

From the corner of his eye, he could see Sheena watching them, but she didn't say anything. "Everything's good there, too." And just like that, Zelos got it: Igaguri was feeling out his reason for being here without directly asking the question. Instantly, his nerves kicked into high gear; between the conversation Igaguri had undoubtedly just had with Orochi and Zelos's answers, indicating he wasn't here to report anything from those other entities, Igaguri could be reaching no other conclusion but that Zelos was here to see Sheena. This had to be his subtle way of determining the status of their relationship to verify what Orochi had just told him. _Not good. And here comes the axe._

Igaguri tilted his head slightly. "I see. And how are _you_ , Chosen?"

Zelos blinked a few times, then glanced up at him. That wasn't what he'd expected to hear...but chances were his expectations would still soon be realized, so it was best not to get his hopes up. "Me? I'm..." He...didn't know. How _was_ he, seriously? Too much was still bothering him, and he was still terrified of what Igaguri would soon be telling him, about how Mizuho wasn't open to outsiders and so if he had no good reason to be here, he should leave...but then his gaze fell on Sheena and the happy, reassuring smile she was giving him, and he couldn't help it: he returned her smile, because being with her and seeing that smile aimed at him probably _was_ the best his life would ever get. And there, he supposed, was his answer. "I'm good." Her smile broadened, and Zelos looked up at her grandfather again. "How 'bout you, Chief Igaguri? How are you doing?"

For a moment, Igaguri just watched him, but then, to Zelos's surprise, he gave him another pleasant smile. "I am doing well myself, thank you for asking." Without warning, his smile faded. "However, I fear I must apologize for the cold welcome you have received from certain villagers here. So you know, you are welcome in Mizuho at any time, Chosen."

It took all of Zelos's restraint not to gape at Igaguri and reply, _"Wow, really?"_ What was even more surprising than Igaguri's words, though, was that he actually seemed to _mean_ that; there was nothing insincere in his demeanor that told him he actually meant that Zelos was welcome here _only if he wanted to be decapitated_. And so instead of letting Igaguri see how taken aback he was, Zelos's eyes just widened a little and he replied with a soft, "Thanks," the shyness that accompanied it surprising even himself.

Igaguri's pleasant smile quickly returned and he tilted his head in acknowledgement, then he turned to Sheena, his smile softening. "Sheena, this will look lovely next spring."

"I hope so," Sheena said, returning his smile before motioning at the dirt. "I would've liked another row in front of this one, but I just don't have enough bulbs to go around again."

"Well, perhaps we will be able to find you enough by next fall," Igaguri said.

Sheena nodded. "I hope so."

And again, Zelos reminded himself to talk to Sebastian about getting her some. He'd been looking for a good housewarming gift for her ever since she'd moved in here, and he couldn't help thinking this would be perfect - especially if he could get them to her within the next few weeks. He quickly scanned the bumps in the dirt where they'd planted the bulbs, calculated how many she'd need for another row in front of that one, and made a mental note of it.

Igaguri bowed his head. "In any case, if you would excuse me, I have business I must attend to."

Sheena smiled warmly. "See you later, Grandpa."

"It was good to see you again, Chief Igaguri," Zelos said.

Igaguri bowed his head again and gave him another pleasant smile. "You as well, Chosen." And then he turned and meandered further into the village, looking around and speaking with the villagers he met along the way, clearly just checking things out.

Once Igaguri was out of hearing range, Sheena turned back to Zelos and smiled reassuringly. "See? It really is okay for you to visit me here."

Despite his earlier impression that Igaguri had sincerely meant his invitation, though, Zelos had been burned so many times before when reality had crushed his wishful thinking that he still had a hard time accepting that what he _thought_ had happened really had. "You sure he wasn't just being polite?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she said with a sigh, most likely at his persisting doubts. "Grandpa doesn't play mind games, so when he says something, he means it. If he really didn't want you here, he wouldn't have just given you an open invitation to drop by whenever you feel like it. No, if he didn't want you here, you would know it."

But again, cynicism was getting the better of him today. _Damn run-ins with Seles and Orochi_. "Or maybe he's just afraid to directly tell me to leave because I'm the Chosen and he doesn't want to risk straining relations with Meltokio more than they already are."

Sheena gave him a wry grin. "Chosen or not has nothing to do with it. Trust me, Zelos, I know how Grandpa works. If he really didn't want you here, he would've told you that. No matter what Orochi might have just told him, Orochi isn't the only one who's talked to him about you. Grandpa is fine with you being here. _Really_. Okay?"

Zelos watched her carefully a moment, realizing what she was saying: she, too, had talked to Igaguri and made it clear she wanted him here. He smiled, that time taking her at her word. "Okay. Thanks for putting in a good word for me."

Her wry grin softened into a shy smile as she looked up at him. "You deserve a chance to show people you're far more than the idiot Chosen everyone's always believed you to be. I'm just making sure you get that chance."

...Oh, Martel. _Oh_ , _Martel_. Zelos had to physically force himself not to give her an amazed, grateful kiss. Every day lately he found himself wondering what he would do without her and how he'd survived this long without receiving her love, support, and encouragement. There was no way she could know how much harder he fell for her when she said things like _that_ to him; words couldn't capture it. And while the future was still a giant unknown, there was one thing he was now absolutely certain of: he couldn't walk away from this, from her, from this relationship that made him so happy, just because of some scary prospects for the future. He would see how things went, since everything could still change, but he _would_ seriously consider that future before it became an issue. He would set a deadline for himself - New Year's sounded good - and then decide whether or not he thought marrying her was a possibility and, therefore, whether or not their relationship should continue. If at that time he decided he couldn't live here, then he'd have no future here. But if he thought he could...well, that answered his question, too. If Igaguri was okay with him being here, even knowing they were dating, then he really was welcome here, and so long as he didn't inadvertently mess things up, then no one else could change that fact, not even Orochi.

With that weight finally lightening, he gave Sheena a broad grin and motioned at the hole he'd been digging. "C'mon, sweetheart, let's hurry and finish this up. You're making it extremely difficult for me to resist kissing you right now."

Her cheeks reddened and she let out a soft, shy laugh as her gaze fell downward, but then she looked back up at him and smiled warmly, her brown eyes sparkling. "Okay."

A comfortable, companionable silence fell upon them as they continued planting the last handful of bulbs, but every time Zelos glanced at Sheena, he marveled to see she was still smiling - and that beautiful sight, in turn, kept the smile firmly on his lips, too, which just made her smile broaden every time _she_ glanced at _him_. Fifteen minutes later, Zelos was helping her bury the last of the bulbs, and once the last shovelful of dirt was in place, he tapped it with his trowel and grinned. "Ta da! All planted."

Sheena returned his grin as she tossed her trowel aside and rose to her feet. "Now all we have to do is water these and we're done."

He watched her head back into the house and similarly pushed himself up, fighting back the urge to brush the dirt off of himself for fear of making it worse, considering all the mud on his hands. Dirty or not, though, it felt _good_ to have done something like that with her - _for_ her. Sure, he might feel like an angel out of heaven in this village, and especially doing a task that no one in his family had ever had to do for themselves, but he _liked_ the feeling that helping her gave him. Maybe there really was something to doing a task for yourself rather than having someone else do it for you. It gave him a sense of accomplishment he'd never felt before. He thought he could actually get used to that feeling. And if helping her out had made her smile, well, that was even better.

He was still pondering the unfamiliar but nice feeling when Sheena returned with a bucket of water and two drinking cups. "Pour one cup of water on each bulb," she instructed, handing him one of the cups.

"Got it." He dipped the cup into the bucket, then headed to the farthest bulb to their left while Sheena took the bulb on the far right, returning to the bucket after each one. They continued in that fashion until they were only a few bulbs away from meeting in the middle. "So when do you find out how well these did or did not take?" he asked.

"Next spring, hopefully," she said. "If they don't take, I'll have to start over from scratch."

Zelos arched an eyebrow, watching her refill her cup. "That's a long time to wait to find out."

"Yeah, but that's how it is with bulbs - you plant them and then spend months waiting, with no idea if they'll survive the winter until spring comes. You're basically planting blind and leaving the rest up to nature."

"Huh," he said, considering that. "Any way you look at it, it sounds like quite a gamble, putting so much time and energy into something that may only result in disappointment."

Sheena smiled faintly as she knelt to pour water on the last bulb. "I guess it kinda is, but I can't help thinking if it pays off and all of these bloom, then it'll have been worth it."

Heh. He couldn't argue with her there. This house really would look gorgeous if these plants survived the winter. And really, the best things in life often did take a lot of time and effort and patience - and sometimes even a huge dollop of luck, too. Why should this be any different? "Yeah, I think so, too," he murmured.

"If they don't grow, then I'll plant bushes or something else instead, but I'd really rather have the iris," she said with a shrug, rising to her feet again.

Zelos couldn't help thinking iris suited her far better than generic bushes would. He couldn't put his finger on why, but the thought of her living in a house lined by iris felt...appropriate. "Well, I really hope they grow for you," he said, giving her a faint smile as he took the cup from her, stacked it with his, and grabbed the handle of the bucket, lifting it. "I can't wait to see what this looks like next spring."

Sheena smiled shyly and, with a faint, "Me, too," they headed inside and kicked off their boots by the door (because _"Never,_ _ **ever**_ _walk on a tatami mat with shoes"_ had been one of Sheena's first, and most strictly enforced, lessons during their stops in Mizuho during the regeneration journey). Zelos set the bucket on the kitchen counter and, using the clean water from it, they set about watching their hands.

Before either could finish drying them, though, Zelos could no longer resist. He grabbed her shoulders, pinned her to the wall beside the counter, cupped her face with his damp hands, and kissed her, savoring the feel of her full, welcoming lips beneath his, her warm, supple body pressed against his, and her smooth, silky skin beneath his fingertips. He sank into the kiss deeper and far more desperately than he than he normally let himself, but he couldn't help it; he hadn't seen her in days, he'd missed her terribly, he'd had an obnoxious day, and his heart was still soaring from her earlier words of encouragement. He felt, quite honestly, like he was gasping for air after being deprived of oxygen for weeks and only her kiss could restore breath to his lungs.

He was reveling in the enticing little moan that had just snuck out of her when, to his surprise and pleasure, she suddenly spun him around, pinned _him_ to the wall, and held him there, taking over the kiss. Damn, had she improved her kissing techniques these past two months - they'd certainly had enough practice! - and...oh, Martel, did he want her, especially when her fingers started roaming his chest and his neck and weaving into his hair, making his head swim with desire. And not for the first time, he had to force himself to jettison that line of thought and remember the promise he'd made not to take anything too far with her. As torturous as it was to not embrace this fiery desire within him that ached for her, he would be patient. He _would_. Breaking that promise now, after all, would mean decimating her trust in him, and he refused to do that after how hard he'd worked to earn it. But unwavering resolve or not, he'd be damned if he didn't enjoy every second of these beautifully heated, heady kisses that he could get.

Finally, though, his need for oxygen demanded attention, and he reluctantly broke the kiss, pulling back enough to observe her through half-lidded eyes, his breathing heavy. It took a moment before her brown eyes opened and searched his face, but once they did, she bit her kiss-swollen lip and gave him a shy smile as she hopped up on her toes and gave him another kiss, far quicker than the last one but still incredibly sweet. "Better?" she asked, arching a playful eyebrow.

"Much," he replied, grinning broadly, but then he reconsidered that and tilted his head. "Although one more wouldn't hurt anything, would it?"

Sheena chuckled and whispered, "No, it wouldn't," before looking back at his lips and giving him another kiss, that one so soft and tender and meaningful that it made his heart pound faster in his chest. After a moment, she pulled away, her eyes slowly opening again, and beamed him another shy smile. "I love you, Zelos."

...And there were his all-time favorite words - words that made every other care and concern melt away. "Love you too, Sheena," he whispered back to her.

She watched him a moment, smiling shyly, her hands falling back to his chest as his lowered to her waist, then she tilted her head in the direction of the door. "Thanks for helping me plant those bulbs. I'd still be doing that otherwise."

"No problem." He let out a soft laugh. "Manual labor or not, it actually feels good every now and then to do something someone finds to be, y'know, _useful._ "

"Yeah, I know. And I really do appreciate it." Her gaze briefly dropped to his lips again, betraying how tempted she was to go back to kissing him - a fact that made him internally smirk - then it lifted back to his eyes, her smile fading a little. "Unfortunately, I have a training session this afternoon with some girls. Otherwise I would've loved to have spent the afternoon with you."

Oh. Right. He did remember her saying that every other afternoon this week she'd be doing that. Zelos sighed softly and shrugged. "Eh, that's okay. I have a meeting with the Church and the King this afternoon anyway that I really can't skip out on."

Her eyebrows rose. "Oh? What's up?"

He grinned. "We're beginning negotiations to remove the title from my name. Needless to say, if I want to keep certain powers in an effort to phase out the need for a certain _other_ obnoxious official, which I've pretty well decided I do, I kinda need to be there to fight for them."

"Oh, _finally_!" she said, her face lighting up. Man, was he glad he had someone to share this news with - someone who was just as happy about it as he was. "It's about time they opened that discussion! It's only been, what, three months since we rendered your title obsolete?"

"What, you were expecting things in Meltokio to work _quickly_?" he asked in mock surprise.

Sheena gave him a wry grin. "Gee, what was I thinking? Here they would've made that decision in less than a day."

"That's because your grandfather isn't nearly as indecisive as the King and the Church are," Zelos stated, mirroring her grin. "Needless to say, when those two are involved, it multiplies the amount of time needed to reach any decision by, oh, twenty."

"And thank Jizou he's not," Sheena muttered, absently running her fingers down his chest. "I don't know how you can stand waiting this long for something you've wanted for years, Zelos. Three months just to start the conversation would drive me crazy."

Yeah, it probably would. Patience wasn't Sheena's strongest point. Fortunately for him, patience _was_ one of his. "Years and years of practice being patient waiting for this very thing to happen, sweetheart."

"I suppose. For your sake, I'm just glad it's finally starting at all." He smiled as her eyes lifted back to his. "So when do you have to leave? My training session isn't for a few more hours."

Zelos mentally calculated the timing, then tilted his head. "Eh, I shouldn't have to head back for another hour or two."

And again, Sheena smiled - and not for the first time, Zelos marveled over the fact that she was _happy_ to hear he could stay longer. They may have been dating two months now, but some things never got old for him - and this, knowing she _liked_ having him around and that his presence no longer made her want to kill him, was definitely one of them. "I'm glad to hear that," she said, pulling her hand from his chest and taking a step backwards, releasing him from the wall. "How about we have some lunch and then go for a walk?"

His grin softened. Disturbing encounter with Orochi or not, he was still extremely glad he'd come here today. "Sounds good."

She smiled at him another moment, then nodded. "So can I get you some tea?"

He shrugged and pushed himself away from the wall. "Eh...I'm not much of a tea drinker."

Her eyebrows flew upward and she folded her arms to her chest. "Okay, if you're going to start spending any significant amount of time in Mizuho, you'll have to learn some of our traditions so you don't accidentally offend anyone. To that end, you should know it's an unwritten rule here that if someone offers you tea, you don't turn it down. Rejecting an offer like that is seen as rude."

"Hm," he murmured, tilting his head. He hadn't known that. "You're right; that's a good thing to know - not that I expect anyone here other than you will ever offer me any seeing as you're the only one who even dares to talk to me. But regardless, that still doesn't solve the problem that I'm not particularly fond of tea."

Sheena leaned back against the counter, observing him a moment thoughtfully. "Then we'll just have to find a variety you _do_ like. It's not like there's only one kind. So what have you had before that you didn't like?"

He searched his memories, trying to remember the two or three times he'd tried tea that had led to his dismissal of the drink. "I don't remember the exact varieties, but one was bitter, and another had an overpowering herbal taste. It reminded me of medicine."

"Okay, so strong herbals aren't to your liking," she said. "Then how 'bout a sweeter kind?"

Zelos shrugged. He'd never tried a sweet tea before. "Sure, why not? I'm game."

"We'll start you off with a fruit variety, and if you don't like it, I'll finish drinking it for you," she said, heading toward the stove to get the tea started brewing. "It used to be if anyone served tea in Mizuho, they'd hold a tea ceremony for it and perform a bunch of rites along with it, and sometimes we still do, just so we remember how to do it, but lately we've been doing that less and less. Since it takes so long and I'm sure you don't care about it anyway, I'll just make the tea instead."

Eh, maybe someday he'd sit through one of those 'tea ceremonies' to see what it all entailed, but it if was long (and 'long' usually meant 'boring'), then they just didn't have time for that today. "Sounds good."

Turning away from her, he wandered toward the living area, looking around her home. He'd only been here once before, a few days after she'd moved in, but already there were additions: a leather scroll on the wall behind the fireplace, between two windows, with a single Mizuhoan character on it; a framed sketch of Corrine that Colette had drawn hanging on the adjacent wall; a wooden mouse charm from Presea that was sitting on a bookshelf beside the broken spider figurine Sheena had kept from Welgaia, the one they'd both received as an admonishment not to run from difficulty; some distinctly Mizuhoan knickknacks sitting on a low wooden table; an embroidered blanket hanging over the back of her couch. The little shrine alcove in the corner, which Sheena had explained was to Jizou, Mizuho's god, seemed to have more flourish and color to it, too, and the floor was now covered with tatami mats. She'd only had one last time, but now there were five, most likely gifts from the villagers. The faint scent of incense hung in the air, too, a soothing mixture of sandalwood and something else he'd always associated with Sheena but had later learned was a standard feature of Mizuho. All were little touches that indicated this place was hers.

The house itself, for something so simple, fit Sheena well. The windows weren't huge (thankfully, since Zelos really didn't want someone to accidentally see them kissing), but they had lovely views when open and let in plenty of natural light. The kitchen, dining area, and living area were technically one large room, with the kitchen and dining area separated by two short, movable paper screens, and the dining area and living area separated by the couch where it faced the fireplace (a small, pit fireplace called an _irori_ that Sheena claimed was unnecessary since she'd also requested a stove in the kitchen area, but the _irori_ itself was apparently a Mizuho tradition, a 'cozy' place for the chief to sit and discuss issues with the villagers, so she'd ended up with both). The couch, Sheena had said, had also been a special request. It, too, wasn't traditional Mizuhoan furniture, and the villagers originally hadn't wanted to give her one since Mizuhoan furniture was designed to fold up and move easily so every room could be used for multiple purposes, but she'd fallen in love with cushy couches while traveling the world and wanted one of her own, even if it made rearranging her main room more difficult, and so some of their craftsmen had made a wooden frame and covered it with some bean- and cotton-filled cushions to function as one. While not as comfortable as the one in his mansion, it served its purpose well enough.

Along the opposite wall from the main door were three additional rooms: a bedroom, a bathroom, and another storage area that could easily serve as an additional bedroom if necessary. The bedroom was small, but it had the necessities: a bed called a _futon_ , which was basically a mattress laid flat on the floor with pillows and blankets atop it that could be folded up and stuffed in her closet if she needed space, a dresser, a mirror, a surprisingly large closet (to house the futon and a few other, larger portable items, she'd said), and several shelving units. The storage room/second bedroom was similar to the main bedroom, except it was smaller and was currently empty. The bathroom, too, was tiny but served its purpose.

Actually, Sheena had pointed out, having so many extra, clearly defined rooms was unique in Mizuho, and she was honored that they'd given her so many; most houses here only had one large, single room (and sometimes a separate bathroom, but not always) that served all purposes at all times, simply being sectioned off by screens and set up with portable furniture for whatever purpose was necessary at the time, sometimes being a kitchen, sometimes a meeting room, and other times a bedroom. So to have three primary rooms like this was an oddity, but one she treasured and was planning to utilize to the fullest. Once she found enough stuff to fill it, that was. So far she was off to a good start, thanks to all the gifts the villagers had given her, things like the tatami mats, curtains, plates, dishes, chopsticks, a table, and an assortment of mats to kneel on while visiting or eating, all of which helped fill it in nicely, as did the budding library starting on a bookshelf along the far wall. Her home was small, far more so than anything he was used to living in, but it was considerably larger and more elaborate than any other building in Mizuho. And really, he supposed, what more did someone need to survive?

It was simple. It was nice. It was homey. Zelos liked it; he felt surprisingly comfortable here, probably because it was so very _Sheena_ and was accumulating pieces of her personality everywhere. It was mostly traditional Mizuhoan in design, and yet it had a number of non-Mizuhoan features, too, which made sense to him since its owner was the same: of Mizuho, yet with a number of worldly, outside influences at work on her. And he especially liked that they now had a place in Mizuho to get away and have some alone time, with no suspicious eyes watching their every move - and that Sheena trusted him enough to let him in without hesitation, in a way that told him she felt in no way threatened that he would try something funny with her.

But, he also noted as Orochi's earlier words floated through his mind again, it was obvious this house wasn't meant just for Sheena, but for her future spouse and children, too. It really was larger than any other home in Mizuho, the _futon_ was large enough for two people, and the storage/guest room was clearly added with the intention of being converted into a baby room when that time came. By giving her a house like this, her people were preparing her for the future life that awaited her - and by accepting it, Sheena was telling her people she accepted that future. And again, Zelos wondered just what _his_ place was in that future. As tempted as he was to ask what _she_ saw for him here, though, she hadn't said anything about it yet, and as he'd decided earlier, he wasn't willing to bring up the subject without knowing where _he_ stood on it first. If he followed through on his New Year's deadline to make an initial decision, _then_ he would broach it with her...maybe.

He'd just picked up a wooden fox carving off the bookshelf - he remembered seeing Lloyd working on it after Corrine's death (everyone had gone out of their way to comfort her, which Zelos had known had made her uncomfortable, and while his own attempts to pretend like nothing had happened had been insensitive, at least he'd gotten her mind off of it and had given her someone to physically vent her frustrations on) - when Sheena rejoined him in the main area. "It'll be a few minutes."

Zelos set the fox down and turned to her, smiling. "Okay." But the thought of Lloyd - and, naturally, accompanying that, the thought of Sheena's _crush_ on Lloyd and the last time he'd seen them together - reminded him of his other reason for coming here today, and his face fell. He was sure she wouldn't be happy about this, and he hated asking her something that might make her regret dating him, but he still had to ask. He wandered over to the couch and sat down on the backrest facing her, folding his arms to his chest and offering her a sheepish smile. "So...do you have any plans for a week from tonight?"

Sheena considered that a moment as she likewise leaned back against the backrest, but then she shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Why? What did you have in mind?"

"...Heh." Zelos scratched his neck awkwardly. Crap, there went all hope for an excuse to get out of this.

Her eyes narrowed and she nudged him with her shoulder. "Zelos?"

Ah, well. As reluctant as he was to mention this and make her feel obligated to do something she didn't want to for him, he kinda had to now that he'd brought it up. "It's the princess's 18th birthday next week, and the king is throwing a 'coming of age' party for her. Y'know, typical Meltokio looking for any excuse they can find to throw a giant gala."

A glance at her showed she was watching him closely. "Okay...?"

"Well, being the Chosen, I'm kinda required to attend this thing. I'm not _thrilled_ about it, but it'd be a little too obvious if I didn't at least put in an appearance. Chances are the king and Princess Hilda would take it as a personal insult, too. And I don't really want to go without a date, because I'm pretty sure Hilda has a crush on me, judging from how excited she was about the thought of dancing with me..."

Sheena rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, too. "Zelos, just about _every_ woman in Tethe'alla has a crush on you. Probably quite a few in Sylvarant do by now, too."

He arched an eyebrow at her, unable to resist smirking. " _Every_ woman, eh? Does that assessment include you?"

As he'd expected, her face flared and her eyes fell downward shyly. "I...I'm a little beyond a crush."

Oh, Sheena. Would it never cease to amaze him that not only was she impossibly cute when she got all shy like that, but that she was actually willing to admit that to him? Especially when, just a few months ago, a stupid statement like that would have resulted in her smacking him? His eyebrow rose higher. "Just a little?"

Her head shot upward and she pointed at him, giving him a mock-glare. "Don't push it."

Heh. He still had it: the ability to push her buttons. And he just knew if he kept pushing, he could get her to smack him, too. Not that he wanted her to, but the reminder that he was still capable of evoking the fire he loved so much was still welcome. His smirk broadened. "Sorry, sorry, can't help myself sometimes."

Sheena continued to glare at him warningly another moment, but thankfully she accepted the apology. "Okay, so there's this party coming up next week, and...what?" When he still didn't reply, hesitant to ask the question, she sighed and gave him a fond, amused smile. "Zelos, if you're gonna ask me to this thing, just ask me."

...Whoops. "That obvious, huh?"

She grinned. "Just a little."

"Yeah, it probably is," he murmured. "It's just, I know you hate these things even more than I do, and I don't want you to feel you _have_ to go just because _I_ have to be there..."

Pushing herself away from the couch, she turned so she was standing in front of him, her hands lightly touching his chest. "Zelos, just _ask_ me. I'm not gonna say 'no.'"

His eyebrows flew upward again. "You're not?"

"Of course not," she stated matter-of-factly, as if she couldn't believe he wasn't sure about that. "You're my _boyfriend_. I can't very well let you go to this thing alone, can I?"

And there was the _'obligated to go because we're dating'_ thing he'd been hoping to avoid. "But..."

She shook her head, cutting him off. "Okay, yeah, so as a general rule, I hate those parties. They're long and boring and basically an excuse for rich people to show off. But there _are_ exceptions to every rule, and this is one of them. I _love_ you, Zelos, and if you need to go to this thing, then I'll make an exception and come with you. I mean, as a general rule, you wouldn't be caught dead digging in the dirt and planting iris bulbs, would you?"

He watched her carefully, realizing what she was getting at. And while it sounded snobbish to admit to this, she was right, and he wouldn't lie about it. "No, probably not."

"And yet obviously you just did," she prodded.

"Heh...I guess I did, didn't I?" he murmured, placing his hands on her waist, drawing her closer to him.

"Yeah, you did, because people who love each other make exceptions to their normal rules in these cases. And that's why I'm willing to make an exception this time and come with you." She smiled shyly, a light blush settling on her cheeks. "Besides, it's not like I didn't enjoy the last one. I...I actually have some pretty good memories of that one."

Zelos couldn't help returning her smile at the warmth that filled him as he remembered that night - and especially knowing what had come from it. "Yeah...me, too. But you have to admit, love, that was a rather...unusual and unique...night. The chances of lightning striking twice are pretty slim. This will be a far more normal, boring party than that one was."

Sheena shrugged, but she was outright grinning now, too. "Yeah, I know. But...well, the thought of going with you to this thing is much better than the thought of going and watching you flirt your way through every woman in the room." Her blush deepened and her eyes fell downward shyly. "Actually, going with you might be kinda nice."

Oh? Zelos was pretty sure his heart skipped another beat. "Really?"

"Really." She met his eyes again, then arched an expectant eyebrow. "So are you gonna ask me or not?"

He should've known that even after she'd pretty much already said yes, she would still make him ask. It was strange how much he still hated that particular aspect of dating - asking her out on a specific date, especially when it was something she wasn't enthused about, as opposed to a simple, _'Hey, so you want to go do something later?'_ But it was too late to back out now. And honestly, he really wanted her to come with him, because he, too, thought it might be nice. More than nice, in fact; if she came with him, he might actually _enjoy_ this party.

With a sigh of defeat, he trailed his fingers lightly over her sides. "So...think I could talk you into coming with me to this thing?"

"'Bout time," she muttered, grinning playfully. "And yes, Zelos, I'll come with you. I may not like these things much - well, okay, _at all_ \- but I'll come with you anyway. Because, y'know, as much as I may not like them, I like the thought of you having to ask Random Hunny #5 to be your date even less."

 _Oh, Sheena. You make it so easy to tease you._ "Jealousy, thy name is Sheena."

Her eyes instantly narrowed, but thankfully a smirk matching his was toying on her lips, too. Sometimes he wondered if she was just that clueless when she was walking into trouble like that, and other times he wondered if she did it intentionally. She folded her arms to her chest and arched an eyebrow. "Are you _looking_ for me to beat you up? Y'know, for old time's sake?"

He laughed softly and waved that off with his hand. "Nah, I'll pass. This time, anyway. Showing up at this thing sporting a black and blue shiner would raise too many questions regarding my sanity at dating a physically abusive ninja."

Sheena gave him a wicked grin. "Trust me, I can find places on your body to beat you up that no one would ever see, meaning they'd be none the wiser for it."

"Heh." Zelos tilted his head, his smirk broadening. "Okay, I'll give you that. But I'd really rather not look like a punching bag when my date is as strikingly beautiful as you."

Her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened - but, thankfully, she no longer argued that point when he caught her off guard with such a compliment. In fact, instead she gave him a shy, embarrassed smile and lightly punched his arm. "Idiot."

Oh, did he know it. He was an idiot who not only liked being able to incite her fiery temper, but also being able to elicit this endearingly shy side of her, too - an idiot who fell harder for her every single time he was with her. Chuckling, he lifted his hands to her arms and rubbed them gently. "So you're really okay with coming with me to this obnoxious thing?"

She nodded, lifting her dark eyes back to his and giving him a shockingly certain - and, more than that, _loving_ \- smile. "I never thought I'd say this, but yeah, I am. It'll be completely different this time, being there with you."

"Yeah, it will," he murmured, his own smile softening, but then he chuckled again. "Honestly, I'm looking forward to being able to stay with one woman the entire time instead of having to flirt with and dance with every woman there and then endure listening to their brain-numbing drivel, just to save an image I'm not interested in maintaining anymore. Thanks for agreeing to this, sweetheart."

"You're welcome." Without warning, her eyes widened. "Wait...does this mean I need a new dress?"

"That's probably a good idea. My hunnies tend to get nasty and judgmental when someone wears the same outfit to three parties in a row."

She sighed. "I suppose. Of course, I can't say I'll be too disappointed to not have to wear that... _hooker outfit_...again."

Zelos's eyebrows flew upward, and while she seemed to be serious about that, he couldn't help laughing. " _'Hooker outfit'_?"

"Let me guess - you liked that thing, didn't you?" Sheena replied, giving him a mild glare.

Oh, Martel, was she _serious_? How could he _not_ like that dress? "Of course I did! It showed off lots of lovely, sexy Sheena skin." He quickly lifted a finger as her grin turned into a glare. "And for the record, lots of skin, especially when done that tastefully, does _not_ equal _'hooker outfit_.' Believe me, I've seen my share of hookers out on the streets at night, and that is definitely _not_ a dress any of them would wear. It was elegant and gorgeous, love, and it looked amazing on you."

"Whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes - but, he noted again, her glare was softening into another smile that she was trying, but failing, to hide. "But I'm still not wearing it again unless I have no other choice."

He nodded. "That's fine. We should still have enough time to get you a new one before then. How 'bout tomorrow for some dress shopping? I know we're having dinner at my place tomorrow night...do you have anything planned before that?"

Sheena slowly shook her head. "No, I don't think so." Without warning, she pointed at him, her eyebrows rising expectantly. "But _you_ aren't picking out my dress. In fact, having you there at all would be way too distracting. Something tells me you'd spend the entire time instructing the seamstress to keep removing layers until I ended up wearing even fewer strips of cloth than last time. I think I can handle choosing my own dress."

Zelos snorted. "Heh. I should've known that would be too easy." He lifted a hand to his heart and released a showy, forlorn sigh. "And my never-ending quest to get my hands on your measurements goes on..."

She chuckled and poked his chest. "You're terrible. Just admit it: you'll never get them."

"Never say never." Zelos waggled his eyebrows. "I have ways you'd never even consider."

"Yeah, _sure_ you do," she said, folding her arms to her chest. "And _I_ have ways to keep anyone from talking. _Ever_."

"Sounds like a challenge to me!" Sheena rolled her eyes, then gave him another mock-glare, and he sighed, lifting his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay! You can go shopping without me. I like being surprised. But _I'm_ paying for it. If you're coming to this thing for my sake, then the least I can do is buy you a dress." He pointed at her before she could object - because judging from how quickly her mouth opened, that was what she'd been about to do. "Ah! And no arguing that, because I'm not changing my mind. I know you're not big on hearts and flowers and candy and other lovebird gifts like that, but you at least have to let a guy dote on his girlfriend every now and then!"

She pursed her lips as she observed him, but then she sighed, her face softening. "Fine, fine. I can't imagine I have the money to pay for something that would cost me a fortune and that I'd only ever wear once anyway."

Oh, there was no way he'd let _that_ happen. He loved tough-as-nails, fighter-ninja Sheena dearly, but he loved dolled-up, irresistibly sexy and classy Sheena just as much. "Hey, if this dress is nice enough, I'm gonna _insist_ you wear it again." He shrugged. "Besides, seeing you decked out in a fancy dress is worth far more than the gald it'll cost me."

Her cheeks flared, and she gave him another embarrassed, half-hearted glare. "We'll see."

 _Good enough_ , he congratulated himself, then gave her a wicked grin. "Just don't cover up _too_ much skin, m'kay? A guy has to take his indulgences when he can get them, y'know."

Sheena rolled her eyes again, her blush deepening further, but her glare was faltering into an even more embarrassed smile. " _That_ I refuse to make any promises about."

He placed a finger to his lips, pretending to seriously consider that. "Hm...then I guess I'll have to have a chat with the seamstress about the percentage of material she's allowed to put into the dress compared to the percentage of skin showing..."

Her fist shot up and smacked his shoulder, but her shining eyes betrayed that she was just amused, not upset. "Perverted idiot," she muttered fondly. Before he could so much as grin at that, though, the tea kettle suddenly whistled, and Sheena pulled away from him to attend to it. Still grinning, Zelos watched her go, admiring the view - because _damn_ , did she have a nice figure that he was already looking forward to seeing in a slinky dress - and then took the steaming mug from her when she returned with it a minute later. "Here you go. Don't burn your mouth. And let me know if you need more sugar or honey in it."

"Thanks," he replied, lifting it to his nose. Huh. It actually smelled pretty good - nothing like what he remembered.

She bowed her head shyly in acknowledgement, then looked up at him again. "So you're really staying for lunch?"

He couldn't help smiling at the sudden, shy hopefulness radiating from her. He would never tire of seeing this side of her - and he especially liked that she was willing to let him regularly see it now _._ "Of course, sweetheart. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Sheena returned his smile, whispering a soft, "Great," before giving him a quick kiss and heading back to the kitchen. "Just give me a few minutes to throw something together."

"Sounds good." Lifting the mug to his lips, he took a sip of the tea. Hm...not bad. It was sweet and a little spicy, too - he couldn't place the flavor, but whatever it was, it was a thousand times better than the other kinds he'd tried. In fact, he couldn't help thinking that it was nice and warm and soothing...just like Sheena.

He watched her another moment as she looked through her cupboards, clearly trying to decide what to make, and took another sip of his tea. Chances were he'd wait until she had decided on something and then see if he could help her out; after all, there was no reason for him to sit idly by when he could be helping her instead. He was used to Sebastian waiting on him hand and foot, but Sheena wasn't Sebastian, and while it was nice to know she cared about him enough to do so for him now, he refused to let her slave over him like that. _He_ owed _her,_ after all, not the other way around. This, too, he would therefore consider to be an exception to the rule.

And speaking of exceptions...he thought he might actually now be looking forward to this predictably over-the-top birthday party for Hilda. With Sheena by his side, he already knew it would be infinitely better than any party he'd ever attended before. Having the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen as his date and being able to dance with her, to touch her without being smacked in return, to spend so much time in such close proximity to her, to enjoy the view of her all decked out in a beautiful dress, to show her off and tell his hunnies, once and for all, that he was taken...oh, yeah, obnoxiously over-the-top or not, he would enjoy this thing. Next week would be another exception to the general rule.

But what else should he expect? Sheena herself was an exception to the rule, an exception to every rule he'd ever expected from women...an exception that, in turn, made _him_ make exceptions to every rule he'd ever held for himself. And that, too, just reemphasized that he'd made the right choice to follow through on this relationship and see where it took them, regardless of Orochi's warning. He might not currently be able to fathom living this kind of life, but given time...maybe that, too, would prove to be another exception to the rules. He couldn't dismiss the possibility. As it was, he was constantly finding himself doing things for her that he'd never dream of doing for anyone else, so if this relationship continued like this...who knew how this life would look to him in a few months?

All he knew was that whatever the future held, 'they' were worth continuing. He refused to run from this, to give up this feeling of being wanted, accepted, respected, and loved. He'd spent his entire life starving for those things, and now, with Sheena, he'd found everything he'd ever wanted. Feeling like he was actually useful to someone, like he wasn't worthless, like he was _valued_ , was far too good of a feeling to let slip through his fingers. To hell with everyone's opinions of him, of her, of their relationship, then. He knew what he wanted right now, and that was her. He wasn't giving her, this, _them_ , up for anything, not right now. Wherever this went, he would see it through, and by New Year's, he would reevaluate his stance and decide whether to continue their relationship or break it off. _Whatever will be, will be_.

Right now, though, he didn't have to worry about that yet; he could just enjoy being here with her and leave the future for another day. Taking another sip of his tea - yeah, he really didn't mind this variety - he pushed himself off the couch and headed toward the kitchen as Sheena started pulling things out and setting them on the counter, indicating she'd settled on something to make. It was time to make another exception for her and see how else he could help her out today.

0~*~0


	2. The Party

**Part 2: The Party**

Sheena wasn't sure she would ever get used to the bizarre feeling of looking at herself in a full-length mirror only to see a stranger looking back at her. She'd felt it the last time she'd worn fancy clothes that cost more gald than she would ever see in her lifetime, and she felt it again now. Part of her wondered if the mirror was lying to her and she was actually peering through a looking glass into an alternate universe, but then her hands drifted down over the sleek material covering her body and she had no choice but to acknowledge it was real.

The dress was exactly what Zelos had specified to the designer (before Sheena had rolled her eyes and shooed him out of the shop) that it should be. " _Nothing poofy, ruffly, frilly, sparkly, or lacy_ ," he'd said. " _Don't let her cover up too much skin, because she's damn sexy, but be modest enough that she's comfortable in it. Go for an elegant, classic look, nothing showy. Give her whatever makes her happy; don't skimp on the materials, no matter how much they cost, because I'm paying for it. Oh, and be sure to let me know what color she picks so I can accessorize properly. Can't be clashing with my date, y'know._ "

The end result was gorgeous; Sheena couldn't deny that. The dress was a deep violet color with some lighter tones bleeding into the dark, with some subdued, mesh-like black overlay over parts of it and a solid black beneath a long slit along the bottom left side. It fit perfectly and was long enough to cover her entire body, thankfully, and while it still showed more skin than she liked, with a single strap over each arm, and the top portion was snug and fairly low-cut, with only a few thin straps and a small bow for a back, she wasn't nearly as uncomfortable wearing this as she had been with that last one, probably because the cleavage it displayed was respectable, not obscene, as she still was convinced her last dress had been, despite Zelos's insistence to the contrary. At least she had a matching stole to wrap around her if she started feeling especially exposed.

The problem was, she still wasn't sure if she liked what she was seeing in the mirror - not the dress itself, because she loved that, but if she liked not being able to recognize herself. It didn't help that she still wasn't convinced she'd made the right choice about what to do with her hair; putting it up too tightly hadn't looked right with the longer dress, but she refused to leave it down, either, because having other people seeing her like that was...well, she could tolerate it when it was just Zelos, but not everyone else. In the end, she'd ended up wrapping it up and letting a few loose curls fall down around her face.

She was pretty sure she looked okay - judging from the seamstress's response last week, at least she didn't look _horrible_ \- but seeing herself like this was just... _strange_. She wasn't comfortable wearing clothes where her movement was confined and she had no good place to hide her cards; no matter how many times she wore fancy attire, she couldn't help remembering that she didn't _belong_ wearing such things. She felt like an imposter, like a poor pauper trying on an expensive dress, a little girl playing dress up, or an actress wearing a costume, pretending to be someone she wasn't.

The more she looked at herself, the less the shock of her reflection was becoming, but still...she didn't feel right. She didn't look or feel like herself, and she just didn't like not looking or feeling like herself. That was why the last two times she'd had to wear a fancy dress, she'd barely even given herself a once-over before she'd walked away from the mirror and told herself not to worry about her appearance, because it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone at the party - not even Lloyd, seeing as by that point she'd already known luring his eye away from Colette was a lost cause. She couldn't get a new dress, so why worry over something she'd never have to wear again after the night was over?

But now...now she _did_ care. For the first time ever, she couldn't do her best to be invisible. She had a date to Hilda's party tonight - and not just any date, but the one man who would undoubtedly be the focus of every eye in the room, meaning _she_ would be scrutinized closely by everyone, too. While she didn't care what they thought of _her_ , she didn't want to reflect badly on him. And...well, she didn't want to disappoint him, either, considering how fashion-conscious he was. But was being someone other than herself the answer, either?

She swallowed hard and bit her lip, conflicted, nervous, and confused about who she was, who she was pretending to be, and how this new person looking back at her from the mirror was supposed to act. And a part of her couldn't help thinking something was missing from the picture before her, too; she just didn't know what.

A sudden knock on the door made her jump. "Sheena?" Zelos said, his voice muffled by the thick wooden door of his guest room. "Everything okay in there?"

A glance at the clock told her the party would be beginning in a few minutes. Crap, she had no idea how long she'd been standing there, just staring at her reflection, but obviously it was long enough that Zelos was getting concerned. "Y...yeah," she replied, lifting a hand to her chest, trying to calm her startled heart. "Everything's fine, Zelos."

"Can I come in?"

Sheena breathed in deeply, then slowly released it. The thought of letting him see her looking like this was nerve-wracking - but unfortunately, she didn't have another option. She probably should have tried to make a dress of her own, in a more typical Mizuho style, but Zelos had obviously wanted to dote on her, and that meant this was the only dress she had available to her. Well, technically she could wear that hooker dress, because she'd intentionally left it here several months ago in hopes she would never have to see it again, but she really didn't want to wear that hideous thing again. That meant unless she wanted to back out on Zelos - which she didn't - she had to wear this. And the thing was, it really did look nice. She _loved_ the dress. She just didn't want to go out in public like this, feeling like a fish out of water - or, as Zelos said when he was feeling especially uncomfortable somewhere, like an angel out of heaven.

The whole thing was ridiculous. If Corrine was here now, he'd be asking, " _What's the matter, Sheena? You've subdued summon spirits and defeated angels, mutants, and wild animals, but now you're too afraid to step outside wearing a dress? I don't understand._ " Oh, was she glad her clansmen couldn't see her exhibiting such a pathetic, irrational fear...

"Sheena?" Zelos called again. "Are you _sure_ you're okay in there, sweetheart?"

 _Damn_ , she silently cursed, shaking her head, trying to snap out of it. _C'mon, just get this over with. Waiting any longer won't make the awkwardness of being seen looking nothing like yourself any easier to bear_. "Y...yeah. Sorry. You can come in, Zelos." Sheena didn't look when the door cracked open, but from the corner of her eye she could see his head poke into the room and, a second later, once he was sure she was dressed, he stepped inside. Taking another deep breath, she finally turned toward him, her heart pounding faster as she noted how wide his eyes were as he observed her. "Do I look okay?"

In response, though, Zelos just stared at her, his eyes slowly trailing down her body.

Sheena let out a soft, embarrassed laugh, then bit her lip and turned back to the mirror, her face blazing. "That weird, eh?"

"...What?" It took him a moment, but he finally seemed to realize what she'd said, for his eyes snapped up to her face and his lips parted. She glanced at him again uncomfortably, her own eyes widening as she saw that he, too, was now blushing - something she was sure she'd only ever seen a handful of times on him the past six years. "No! No, not at all. Sorry, I just...you just...you look... _wow_. I'm having trouble finding words to sufficiently capture how amazing you look. You look...you look...stunning, sweetheart. You look radiant. You look gorgeous. You look...you look strong and sexy and...and...utterly beautiful. All those words feel trite, but they're the closest I can come up with right now."

Her blush deepened as she turned back to the reflection of the stranger in the mirror. So he wasn't staring because of how weird she looked? "Really?"

"Oh, yeah, really," he said, crossing the floor to stand beside her, touching her arm and drawing her eyes back to his, a soft, tender smile on his face that mesmerized her. "I've never lied when I told you how beautiful you are, and I'm certainly not starting now."

She laughed awkwardly and looked back at her reflection. "Yeah, well, you're a little biased."

He grinned and stepped closer so he was in her line of sight again, standing between her and the mirror, a little to her left. "I think I have the right to be when I have a girlfriend who looks like _you_. I mean, you look incredible when you're _not_ trying to impress anyone, so when you _are_...wow." He brushed a gloved finger over her bare arm, the light touch sending tingles of fire through her and a shiver down her spine, and she looked up at him again, offering him a faint smile. She still felt awkward having him see her like this, but the look of amazement and love on his face took her breath away. She had no doubt he was being truthful about that. "To be honest, this is exactly what I meant when I said you could use some 'dolling up' every now and then." He tilted his head slightly. "Although maybe it's a good thing you don't do it more often or I suspect you'd have your own rabid fan club following your every move that I'd have to compete with for your attention. Well, that and I'd be black and blue from being smacked for staring at you all the time."

Sheena chuckled, glancing at him again before looking down. "I just...I feel weird looking like this. I feel so... _girly_."

Zelos snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because I hit on you all the time because of how _masculine_ you are, love." Giving him a faintly annoyed glare, she smacked his shoulder lightly, and his grin softened into that loving, amazed smile that always made her heart skip a beat as he looked her over again. "You look incredible, Sheena. This color is perfect on you, and this dress was worth every gald I spent on it. You're just not used to it yet." He smirked. "In fact, I'm not sure what to do with myself. I've never been upstaged on the sheer prettiness scale by my date before!"

Wow, was he, Mr. _I'm Just Too Pretty!,_ actually saying she looked _better_ than him? What, had the world just ended, too? Sure, his modesty and compliments, at least toward her, matched what she now knew about the real him, about the man she now trusted him to be with her. Even after two months of seeing this man, though - excluding the occasional, apparently irrepressible bouts of perversity, of course, which she was surprised to admit no longer annoyed her, just amused her - it still took her aback when he actually _acted_ like a gentleman instead of like that perverted idiot. And the truth, which she would never admit to him, was that she liked being caught off guard by him like that.

Blushing again at the compliment, Sheena gave him a shy smile before lifting her hands to his suit, savoring the feeling the smooth material beneath her fingertips. "Well, you look sharp tonight yourself." And oh, did he ever. His suit was black this time, not blue - probably because black went better with her dress - and, she noted, now that she looked closer, it really did match her outfit perfectly. He had accessorized so it matched her dress's color; a number of finishing touches and a few small stripes were a light violet color that complemented the dark violet of her dress, marking him as her date for the evening. And the black set off his bright red, loosely braided hair beautifully...oh, was he gorgeous. It still boggled her mind that not only was she dating a man so attractive, but that _he_ sincerely found _her_ to be beautiful, too.

Zelos let out a soft, "Heh," his uncharacteristic blush returning. "Ya think?"

"Yeah, you do," she said, trailing her fingers from his chest up to his shoulders and then down his arms as she glanced up at him shyly, feeling strange saying this to _Zelos_ , of all people, but trusting him not to go overboard with the teasing as he once would have. "You look handsome. Dashing, even."

He grinned, the happiness reflected in his sparkling blue eyes softening the arrogance that typically accompanied it. "Good, because I kinda have to with a date who looks like _you_. Can't make you look bad tonight, y'know."

Sheena bit her lip again, her blush deepening further as she beamed him another shy smile, then she lightly punched his chest and murmured, "Idiot."

When she finally lifted her gaze back to his face, she found his eyes trailing down her body again, the look in them still breathtakingly adoring. "Well, in my opinion you already look perfect, but there's one more thing we could add."

She quirked an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"Wait here a sec, sweetheart," he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek before backing away. "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Sheena watched him head out, stopping at the doorway to cast another glance back at her, smiling and shaking his head faintly, then he chuckled and left. Turning back to the mirror, she observed her reflection again, releasing her breath in a low sigh. Thankfully, she seemed to finally be getting more accustomed to the sight before her. More than that, though, _Zelos_ seemed happy with how she looked - _sincerely_ happy, and not just saying that to be polite. It was something she'd started identifying more clearly the past two months: sincere appreciation and love from him, not the over-the-top, _'Oh, you look_ _ **so**_ _beautiful tonight, hunny!_ ' lines he used with other women. Fakeness always seemed to sneak through whenever he was with them, and it simply wasn't there with her, and over time she'd grown to trust that it _wouldn't_ appear. This time had been no exception. And the bottom line was that as long as he was happy with how she looked, then she was, too; after all, he was the reason she was going to this party. Why should she care what those stupid noblemen and jealous hunnies thought of her when she knew she had made the only man there whose opinion mattered happy?

A minute later, Zelos returned carrying a small, velvet jewelry box. Leaning back against the dresser beside the mirror, he held it up and opened it, revealing a delicate gold jewelry set, each piece showcasing a single pearl pendant. "Look okay?" he asked.

Her eyes widened, and she gingerly touched the simple but classy pearl necklace. "Of course it does. It's beautiful." She glanced up at him and smiled awkwardly. "Heh, I didn't even think to bring any jewelry tonight, and even if I had, I don't have anything this nice. Whose is this?"

He set the box on the dresser, pulled off his gloves, removed the earrings, and handed them to her to start putting on. "They were my grandmother's, on my father's side."

"Oh." It took her a moment to secure the first earring. Wearing jewelry of any kind was something she just never got used to, it seemed. "Family heirloom?"

Zelos nodded and began removing the bracelet from its confines. "Yeah. I plan on giving it to Seles when she turns 18. It's an unwritten family rule that heirlooms like these get passed on to the eldest female, which in this case is her." He smiled and, once she'd finished clasping the second earring, grasped her right hand. "But until then, there's no reason why you can't wear it, especially when it would look lovely with this dress."

Sheena returned his smile as he fastened the bracelet around her wrist, his gentle touch against her sensitive skin making her shiver. Talk about an honor, wearing something so precious to his family. Awkward and weird and it made her, a poor ninja, feel out of place wearing something so expensive and meaningful, but still touching that he was willing to let her borrow these for the night. "Thanks."

His eyes flitted up to hers, his smile growing warmer, then he looked down at the box again as he began pulling out the necklace. "I probably would've picked the diamond set except that one was my mother's, and...well, I really don't want to be reminded of her when I'm with you, so I opted for the pearl one instead."

Her eyes widened as he pushed away from the dresser and stepped behind her so they could both see their reflections in the mirror, then he situated the delicate gold chain around her neck, his fingers skillfully clasping it behind her and sending even more shivers through her at the sensual fire of his touch against her skin. Zelos smiled at her as their eyes met in the mirror, a smile she was helpless but to return as his fingers slowly trailed from her neck down to her shoulders. Oh, did that feel good.

Sheena had to clear her throat to bite back a moan at the warmth and desire welling within her. This man's hands were magic sometimes - and she was glad he now behaved himself when he touched her so she didn't have to threaten to break his fingers anymore. "I take it you don't have bad memories of your grandmother?"

Zelos shook his head. "I never met her. She died long before I was born. She could've been a horrible woman, for all I know, but all I've heard is good about her, so, well, this set is memory-free. Besides, it's such a simple, classy set that I have trouble believing she could've been too showy and fake." He shrugged, then smiled again as he looked at the necklace in the mirror and nodded in approval. "There. _Now_ you look perfect."

While she would never call herself 'perfect,' she couldn't deny that the gold and pearl went well with her black and violet dress. Without warning, Zelos wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a tender kiss to her neck, then lightly rested his head against hers, smiling softly as he observed their reflection in the mirror. Her face flushed again, but she couldn't resist covering his arms with hers and leaning into him, sinking into his embrace, wishing they could ignore the party and lose themselves in the moment. Taking a deep breath, she shivered again as he nuzzled his nose against her neck, his warm breath grazing her skin...and now that he was holding her, she couldn't help noticing how good he smelled, too. Nothing overpowering, nothing she could identify, just nice and subtle and _him_.

Closing her eyes, Sheena squeezed his arms with hers in the best hug she could currently manage given their position. "I love you, Zelos."

She could feel his lips pull up in a grin just before he placed a kiss to her shoulder, sending even more heat through her body. "I love you too, Sheena."

For a moment she just stood there, smiling and enjoying the feelings of warmth and safety of being held like that...but suddenly a realization hit her and her eyes flew open. "Oh, the party! We're already late."

Zelos tightened his hold on her before she could pull away. "Heh. That's the point."

She abruptly froze, then turned her head toward his as a smirk appeared on his reflection's face. "Eh? You _want_ to be late?"

He tilted his head a little. "Well, not _late_ late, just... _fashionably_ late."

 _There's a difference?_ "And why's that?"

"Because if I'm there too early, we'll have to deal with two obnoxious traditions tonight."

Her eyes narrowed and she looked back at his reflection's face. "Which would be...?"

He sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder. "One, they'll make a grand, over-the-top introduction for me...and for my date."

...Oh. Sheena cringed. "They will?"

"'Fraid so, sweetheart." His eyebrows rose curiously as he met her eyes in the mirror. "Unless that's what you _want_..."

The thought of _that_ , of announcing to everyone that she was Zelos's date for the evening and then of all the inevitable stares and glares she'd receive the rest of the night, was nearly enough to make her run away screaming. "Ah...no. Definitely not."

"Yeah, didn't think so," he said, grinning knowingly. "That's yet another reason every woman wanted to be my date to these things. Even if I only spent five minutes with her the whole night, she was happy if she was the one in that introduction."

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Ugh. These people really are shallow, aren't they?"

Zelos arched an eyebrow. "Why do you think I love you so much? Everyone else just wanted to be seen with the Chosen, but you..."

His voice trailed off, and Sheena smiled shyly, nodding, knowing what he meant: Zelos loved that she _didn't_ care that he was the Chosen; she loved _him_ , not the _Chosen One_. "And the second reason we should be late?"

"If I'm there when the dancing starts - which, based on past experience, will be immediately after the king's official welcome speech - then it's tradition that Hilda's first dance is always with me. Needless to say, considering her crush on me and the fact that I am very happily spoken for and want to spend as much time with my beautiful date as I can, that's not exactly high on my list of things to do tonight."

"Ah." She grinned, even as her heart pounded a little faster at hearing that not only did he want to spend so much time with her there, but that running off on her or flirting with every other woman there wasn't on his agenda for the night. "No argument from me. I don't particularly want to watch you dancing with another woman." Before he could reply, she pointed sharply at his reflection. "And don't you dare tell me I'm being jealous again, because I doubt _you_ want to watch _me_ dancing with other men there tonight, either."

"Heh," Zelos retorted, smirking. "I think I can let you off the hook this time since...yeah, okay, I really _don't_ want to watch you dancing with anyone else tonight. Especially when I already know every guy there will be ogling you and trying to steal you away for himself."

Sheena's blush deepened. She wasn't sure she believed that, but she didn't feel like arguing it, either, not when he would just ultimately win. He always did when it came to arguing how beautiful he found her to be. "Believe me, Zelos, I've met enough noblemen to know there's no way I'll be running off with any of them tonight."

"...Which is a fact that will astound me for a very, very long time," he murmured. Before she could process his awestruck amazement, though, his face lit up. "Oh! And while we're looking for legitimate reasons to be late, I know what I forgot to do!" Grinning broadly, he suddenly released her, leaving her already missing his warm arms around her, snatched his gloves from the dresser, and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the door. "C'mon, sweetheart. Trust me, you're gonna love this."

Her eyes narrowed and she briefly resisted, just for old time's sake, but then she caved and let him pull her toward the door, grabbing her stole from the bed on the way. No matter what mysterious thing he had in mind, she really did trust him; not once during the past two months had he ever forced her to do anything she truly didn't want to do. He'd earned the benefit of the doubt. He carefully led her down the steps, making sure she didn't trip in her fancy, strappy, thankfully low-heeled shoes, and despite her uncertainty about what he was doing, she couldn't help smiling as she asked, "What are you scheming now, Zelos?"

Naturally, Zelos didn't answer her; he just smirked and, upon reaching the main floor, pulled her into the kitchen. "Hey, Sebastian?"

Sebastian was already there, a brown box in his hands, and the minute they entered, he lifted the box. "Here you go, sir," he said.

Zelos's smile brightened as he released Sheena's hand and accepted the box, indicating that was what he'd wanted, leaving Sheena marveling, again, at how accurately Sebastian could predict what Zelos wanted before he even asked for it. Seriously, was the butler psychic? Or did he just know Zelos that well? And how could Zelos not be fazed at having a man in his house who apparently knew what he was thinking _all the time_?

"Thanks," he said, to which Sebastian bowed his head before retreating into the pantry. Zelos turned and held up the box to Sheena, grinning. "Here you go, love. A present."

Her eyes briefly widened - he'd gotten her _another_ present, even beyond this gorgeous dress? - but then they narrowed again as she tentatively accepted the box from him. For a present, it sure was dull: it was just a plain, unwrapped brown box. And since Zelos was the kind to go overboard with things, even when she didn't want him to, she really was surprised he hadn't made this box all fancy and sparkly.

After a moment while she observed it, trying to figure out what he was up to, Zelos rolled his eyes and motioned for her to hurry up. "Oh, c'mon, it won't bite. Honest. Just open it!"

Her eyes snapped up to his, observing him warily - seriously, why was he so excited about this? - but then she reminded herself that yes, she really did trust him, and that meant opening strange, unexpected presents from him. Walking over to the table, Sheena set the box down and pulled off the cover...and instantly gasped at what she found inside: over a dozen plant bulbs. "Are these...?"

The idiot was outright beaming now, a glance up at him told her. "That's exactly what they are. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they're the kind you want - you _were_ looking for the lighter variety in my garden, right?" His face briefly fell as if he wasn't certain about that, and Sheena quickly nodded, stunned, causing his smile to reappear. "Thought so. And based on my calculations, you should have enough to finish that extra row you wanted. If you need more, though, let me know; there's more where those came from."

Oh, Jizou. He'd gotten her _iris_ , exactly the kind she wanted. She should have known he would take it upon himself to get these for her. She'd insisted to him numerous times since they'd started dating that she didn't want him to give her flowers, because she'd always maintained that flowers were meant to be enjoyed in nature, not cut and dying in a vase, and he'd grumbled about it, insisting that cutting the flowers didn't actually killthem if they were put in water right away, but she'd insisted, and he'd complied - unhappily, but he had because that was what she wanted. But now...now he wasn't giving her cut flowers; he was giving her the plants to grow her own, something he knew she couldn't argue or turn down. Romantic bastard had found a way to give her flowers after all, hadn't he? And the thing was, sneaking around her 'rules' or not, she couldn't help but be amazed, yet again, that this man she'd been convinced for years was merely a perverted, womanizing idiot had actually turned out to be the sweetest, sharpest, most thoughtful man she'd ever met. And not for the first time, she couldn't help thinking she had one of the best boyfriends a woman could find. It just astounded her that that boyfriend was _Zelos Wilder_.

Biting her lip, she looked up at him, gave him a shy smile, and whispered, in all sincerity, "Thank you, Zelos."

His grin broadened, even as his blue eyes softened. "You're welcome, sweetheart. I just wanted to make sure you got them with enough time to plant them yet this season."

"Yeah, there's plenty of time left." Her gaze fell to the bulbs again, and that time she couldn't help grinning excitedly. "Oh, this is perfect! Now I won't have to wait another year to get it to look like how I want it!"

"And _that_ , my dear, was the entire point," Zelos replied. "Consider it to be a combination housewarming gift and thank-you gift for agreeing to come with me tonight."

"As if this dress wasn't already more than enough," she murmured, looking up at him again. "I really do appreciate this, Zelos."

"Good. I'm glad I could help you out." He lifted his hand and gently trailed his fingers over her cheek, his grin softening. "Heh, I might even come back with you tomorrow and help you plant them. It's not like I have anything else planned."

Sheena was still marveling over the fact that Zelos, Mr. Luxury, Mr. _'Aren't My Hands So Pretty?'_ , Mr. _'Bring On The Easy Life, Baby!',_ had actually offered to do menial manual labor like that for her last week, and now he was offering to do it again? She almost couldn't believe it. And the most astounding thing was that he couldn't possibly realize how significant, how _meaningful_ , the act of helping her plant _iris_ was for her. "While I could easily plant them myself, I'd never turn down the company. And I don't have anything planned for tomorrow, either, so..."

His eyes lit up. "Great! Then I think I'll do that."

And that still amazed her, too, how eager he was to spend time with her. She'd expected him to get bored with her after a few weeks, because she was dull and lived a dull life, but she couldn't deny that even after two months, he didn't seem bored with her _._ In fact, she'd never seen him so sincerely, consistently happy in all the years she'd known him. And the thing was, as long as she didn't think about the future that awaited them, which she tried hard not to - and, thankfully, she was usually pretty successful in ignoring it, probably because Zelos didn't mention it either, 'live in the moment' kind of guy that he was...well, except when he _wasn't_ \- then she truly was happy spending time with him, too.

"I'd like that," she said, giving him another grateful smile.

Zelos's grin broadened, but a moment later he took a step backwards and motioned at the clock on the wall. "Anyway, we should be safe heading to the party now, so...shall we?"

As tempted as she still was to run and hide instead of dealing with stuffy, stuck-up nobles, she'd promised to come with him, and these bulbs just reinforced that yes, she really did love this man enough to make an exception for him, just as he'd made so many for her, and see this party through. And so she would. Leaving the box on the table, she smiled, looped her arm through his, and then they were on their way.

As Zelos predicted, by the time they reached the dinner hall, the party was in full swing. Not wanting to make a scene with their entry, Zelos led her to a less-used side door, and thankfully, once they'd gotten past the guard and quietly slipped inside, only a few people were standing nearby to notice them. Sheena took a moment to look around and take in everything. For the most part, it looked identical to the last two parties she'd attended: the dining area off to the side was empty except for waiters setting places at the tables, but the main hall was filled with people mulling about, some already dancing, but most just talking amongst themselves, lending a low murmur to the room that nearly topped the orchestra playing along the far back wall. The hall was more beautifully decorated this time, too - not with tacky streamers or ' _Happy Birthday_!' posters on the walls, but with flowering plants and tiny white lights that gave the room a warm glow and sparkle she'd never seen here before. And, she quickly noted, there were more people here this time, all dressed in fancy suits and dresses. _Far_ more people, actually, she noted, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it, her heart pounding faster at the sheer number of strangers she'd suddenly found herself surrounded by. What had the king done, invited every single nobleman in Tethe'alla to his daughter's coming-of-age party?

They'd managed to avoid detection by most of the guests, but the ones nearest the door _did_ still notice their arrival, and every group immediately stopped talking and turned to stare at them a moment before suddenly whispering amongst themselves. Sheena could feel herself involuntarily tense at all the looks everyone was giving her between hushed whispers. And here was the moment she'd dreaded most tonight: finding herself on display for everyone to look at, simply because of the man currently holding her arm.

"Hey, it's all right," Zelos said, pulling his arm from hers, gently touching her bare back with his gloved hand, and leaning down so his lips were near her ear. "Just smile and act confident. You look gorgeous tonight, sweetheart. That's all they're staring at."

Sheena tore her eyes from all the faces watching her and looked at him. Agh, she _hated_ being the center of attention like this. They may have just gotten here, but she already felt out of place amongst these rich, snobby, scrutinizing people. And really, she doubted anyone would be paying her any attention if she hadn't just walked in with Zelos; they'd be ignoring her like they'd done every time before this. But she _had_ just walked in with Zelos, and despite her discomfort and building restlessness, she wouldn't back out now. She loved him too much to disappoint him by running away. _He would gladly do this for you if your positions were reversed_ , she reminded herself. And really, once everyone had finished staring at her and went back to their own conversations, she knew she'd be fine, since she'd managed to get through the last two parties; it was just this initial 'out on display for everyone to see' feeling that was making her stomach churn.

But she _would_ get through this. For Zelos's sake, she would make this exception. _'Just smile and act confident,_ ' he'd said. That must be his own mantra at these things. Heck, maybe this was how Zelos _always_ felt in these situations: out on display for everyone to see, like a specimen in a zoo, or a lab rat in a cage, being scrutinized by a scientist. And if that was true, then she could only trust that he knew what would work in this situation, and apparently smiling and acting confident was his answer.

Taking a deep breath, Sheena swallowed hard, forced a smile, and nodded. "I'm okay."

His blue eyes softened, and he returned her smile. "Love you."

And just like that, her smile grew far more sincere, even as a blush blossomed on her cheeks. "Love you, too."

Zelos pressed a kiss to her cheek, letting his lips linger there a moment, then he pulled back and, keeping his hand to her back, guided her further into the crowd. "What do you say we get this whole 'mingling' thing out of the way?"

Her smile fell, and she released a soft sigh, forcing herself to ignore the continued stares of everyone around them. "I suppose."

"I know, I know, I'm not terribly fond of it, either. But unfortunately, it's a necessary evil at these things."

She nodded faintly. "Yeah, I know. I just...I don't know any of these people. At least our friends were at the last two parties."

"To be honest, I don't know many of these people, either," Zelos said, flashing her a knowing grin. "Just let me do the talking; you don't have to say a word unless you want to. And don't worry, sweetheart, I won't leave your side unless I absolutely have to."

Sheena gave him another grateful smile. "Thanks."

They spent the next twenty minutes wandering through the crowd, talking to people that either Zelos thought they should talk to or who wanted to talk to him. Everyone who saw them still seemed to stare at him, and then at her, some sticking up their nose in disdain if they recognized her, while others who didn't recognize her just looked curious. From the first couple they stopped to talk to, though, Sheena could see it happen on him: he immediately plastered on his fake smile and began smoothly conversing with them, making it look like the easiest thing in the world to make small talk with these people he'd admitted he didn't know and make them feel as if he was their best friend. She hated seeing him like that, not acting like his real self with others, but she understood it - and thankfully, in between each group they stopped to chat with, he always reverted into the man she loved when he talked to her.

At least even while he was in _The Great Zelos_ mode, he was still always careful when he introduced her, identifying her as the king's Emissary of Peace, not as a ninja from Mizuho - and, thankfully, most of the people claimed to have never seen her before, nor did they recognize her from those pictures of her in the papers two months ago. _Maybe there_ _ **is**_ _an advantage to looking completely different from my usual self after all: I don't have to worry about being recognized_ , she thought. Of course, on the uncomfortable side of not looking like herself, she had to face quite a few compliments - some more sincere than others - from the men they spoke with regarding how 'beautiful' she was. Fortunately, every time Zelos agreed with their compliments, he briefly reverted back to his 'real self' and gave her a soft, knowing, happy smile that helped relax her further.

True to his word, Zelos didn't leave her side, and he always kept a hand pressed to her back as he guided her through the crowd. And the best part was that while Sheena could see his hunnies scattered around the room, all giving her furious glares, he paid them (or their instant shift to coy and flirty whenever his gaze fell on them) no heed, and instead always gave Sheena a smile that reassured her he was completely with her tonight. Thankfully, none of the ridiculously showy, shallow women approached them, but Sheena couldn't help thinking if they detected an opportune moment, they would pounce - and she knew Zelos knew it, judging from how he would always steer her away from any groups of them he noticed.

By the time they'd spoken to a dozen couples, Sheena was tiring of having the same conversation over and over again: Zelos introducing her, saying 'hi' as pleasantly as she could, answering the same few cordial questions, listening to Zelos say the same polite compliments to them, and then moving on to the next couple. At least he really did handle all of the talking, and he was always careful not say anything that might incite any unwanted questions, but it didn't change the fact that nearly everyone still treated her - and him, too - with obvious, albeit overly syrupy and fake, pleasure, clearly trying to impress him. And, in turn, Zelos just treated them all as fakely as they treated him, which was emphasized by the fact that whenever they weren't looking, he rolled his eyes, telling her he, too, recognized and detested the fakeness.

Most of their encounters went smoothly and, while irritating, weren't terribly upsetting. But after they'd been tackled by Minister Giannovio (who Zelos admitted he'd been trying to avoid) and forced to experience the most subtly aggressive and scathing yet ridiculously over-the-top and praising conversation Sheena had ever had (based on the shifty looks he'd given them, he had obviously either figured out or was simply paranoid that they were trying to oust him from his position), she finally closed her eyes and succumbed to the weary sigh that had been itching to escape her since they'd begun mingling.

Zelos grabbed her hand and squeezed it, and when she opened her eyes, he gave her a wry grin. "Yeah, that sums up my feelings pretty well, too."

As much as she detested begging and whining, especially over something she'd been determined she _would not_ beg and whine about when she'd agreed to come with him tonight, Giannovio had worn down her defenses and left her utterly exhausted. "Zelos, _please_ tell me we're almost done mingling."

He chuckled, his smile softening, then pressed a reassuring kiss to her cheek. "We're almost done mingling. You're doing fine, sweetheart. Just a little bit-" Without warning, his voice cut off and his eyes lit up as he noticed someone in the crowd. "Aha! I know how to make up for that disaster with Giannovio." Using the hand still grasping hers, Zelos began leading her through the crowd again. "C'mon, this couple I _want_ you to meet - and I want _them_ to meet _you_ , too." Sheena gave him a curious look, not sure if he was being serious or sarcastic about that, but she didn't argue because...well, she hadn't seen him this excited about talking to anyone here all night. He smiled at her. "You'll like these folks. Honest."

Huh, so he truly wanted to talk to these people. That was a first. And suddenly she was curious who here could actually rouse this kind of excitement in him. "Okay."

A minute later they were approaching an older couple standing along the back wall. Sheena's eyes narrowed as she looked them over. The woman was petite and probably in her sixties, but she looked radiant compared to the other women here, her white hair neatly curled up, her face wrinkled yet full of vibrant color and vitality, and her dress far more elegant and sophisticated than frilly and showy, as most other dresses here were. The man, on the other hand, was tall with gray hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. Sheena couldn't help thinking he looked distinguished and held himself both properly and proudly. There was an air about them that caught her attention; not only were they attractive for their age, but the way they held themselves was different from how the other people she'd met here did. Unlike those noblemen who came across as fake and showy, this couple actually _seemed_ noble, like how the king and the princess held themselves. It was like they knew they had nothing to prove to anyone, so they weren't trying to - and that, in and of itself, impressed her. It would be refreshing here after all the other exasperating, subpar couples she'd met. Now she just hoped when they opened their mouths, they didn't wreck the mental image she was forming of them.

She and Zelos were a few feet away when the two finally noticed him approaching. Instantly, they both broke out into smiles and headed toward him. "Ah, Chosen!" the woman said, handing her glass of champagne to her companion and walking up to Zelos, placing her hands on his shoulder and pulling him down to her level so she could kiss his cheek. A moment later she stepped back, looked him over, and nodded her approval. "How good it is to see you again!"

"Eleanor," Zelos said, returning the woman's smile and lifting her hand to his lips to kiss it. "It's good to see you, too. You look lovely tonight."

"Thank you, Chosen," she replied, her face brightening further. "You look quite handsome yourself."

The older man bowed his head in greeting as he handed the champagne flute back to her. "Ah, so _here_ you are, dear boy."

"Robert," Zelos said, shaking the hand the man extended to him. "Yep, here I am. So how are you two doing? I haven't seen you guys in ages."

"We are doing marvelously, Chosen," Eleanor said. "Thank you for asking. And you?"

Zelos glanced at Sheena, and for the first time since their mingling had begun, she saw no trace of the fakeness that had plagued him the past half hour, rather honest-to-goodness happiness sparkling in his eyes. It was obvious he was sincerely glad to see these people - and from what she could tell, they truly seemed glad to see him, too. Now she wanted to know who they were, how Zelos knew them, and why they seemed so different from everyone else she'd met tonight.

"I'm doing really well, thanks," Zelos said, turning back to the couple.

Eleanor smiled again. "Good, good. We are glad to hear that."

Robert mirrored her smile. "Yes, we are. In fact, we were just commenting a few minutes ago that we had yet to see you tonight. You had everyone talking about you when you did not appear when you were announced earlier."

"Heh, yeah, I bet they were," Zelos said, briefly glancing at Sheena and giving her a knowing smile before looking back at the man and shrugging nonchalantly. "We were just running a little behind tonight. Nothing major."

"Mm." Without warning, Eleanor's eyes snapped to Sheena, and the warm smile she'd given Zelos quickly transformed into a merely polite one - behind which, Sheena noted, was enough thinly veiled scrutiny to make her fidget. "So then I assume this young lady is your date for the evening?"

Zelos grinned proudly and lifted his left hand to Sheena's back. "She sure is. Eleanor, Robert, this is Sheena Fujibayashi, the king's Emissary of Peace to Iselia. Sheena, this is Eleanor and Robert Perichek."

As uncomfortable as Sheena still felt thanks to Eleanor's - and now Robert's - scrutinizing looks, and as uncertain as she still was about Zelos's connection to these people, she forced the same smile she'd used with everyone else tonight and shook Eleanor's hand. "It's nice to meet you both," she said, moving next to shake Robert's hand.

"You as well," Robert said.

"Yes, quite," Eleanor said with surprising, and alarming, curtness. While Sheena found it refreshing that this woman wasn't attempting to hide her disdain behind the same fakeness all the other women she'd met tonight had, she also couldn't help wishing for once that Eleanor _would_ be a little less forward about it because it was making her uncomfortable. She wasn't sure she liked having a couple Zelos was obviously excited to see looking at her like that before she'd said more than a few words to them. She wasn't sure what she'd done, but she suddenly wanted to fix it; she just didn't know how.

Robert, likewise, looked Sheena over carefully. His face didn't reflect the same distrust his wife's did, but it was still far blanker than approving. "She is lovely, Chosen."

Zelos grinned and wrapped his arm around Sheena's waist. "Yeah, she is, isn't she?"

"Hm, yes, she is," Eleanor said. Suddenly, she looked back at Zelos expectantly. "So tell me, Chosen, how long have you two been dating?"

Either Zelos hadn't noticed how Eleanor was looking at her, which Sheena seriously doubted since he'd proven these past two months to be far more sensitive to how others treated her than she'd expected he would be, or his scheming mind had something else planned for his grin broadened even further as he looked back at Sheena. "Try, oh, two months."

To her surprise, Eleanor's disdain instantly vanished and both sets of eyes widened as they looked again at Sheena. " _Two months_?" Robert repeated. "Seriously, Chosen?"

Zelos nodded curtly. "Seriously."

Sheena's eyes narrowed. She was missing something here. Why the abrupt turnabout in their demeanor?

Robert nudged Eleanor with his elbow, his face brightening. "Did you hear that, darling? The Chosen and this beautiful young lady have been dating _two months_."

"Why, I most certainly did, Robert." Once again, Eleanor looked Sheena over, but that time her eyes were far kinder and more appreciative than scrutinizing. Sheena looked at Zelos curiously, but he just continued smiling proudly, and before she could pull him aside and ask why he was acting so smug, Eleanor hummed in approval. "I must admit, Chosen: I am impressed. I am quite certain this is the first time I have heard you say you aren't on your first date with your chosen companion for the night. In fact, I do believe you admitted to us once that three dates was the highest number of dates you had _ever_ reached with a woman."

"Heh." Zelos rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I did say that once, didn't I?"

Robert bowed his head, a faint smile toying on his lips. "Yes, you did. And I remember soundly scolding you for toying with your dates' hearts like that if you knew before you started dating them that you were not serious about them."

"Yeah, I remember that, too," Zelos murmured, a light blush appearing on his face, and Sheena's eyes narrowed further. Okay, now she was intrigued: who were these people who could not only make him blush, but who obviously weren't afraid to scold _the Chosen_ for his old, womanizing ways? "Well, I can assure you Sheena's different from all those other women. In every way imaginable."

"Obviously, if you have been dating her two months now," Robert said, his eyebrows rising.

"This is not like you, Chosen, to be serious about a woman for so long," Eleanor prodded.

"No, I guess it's not," he murmured, but then his eyes fell on Sheena and a soft smile crossed his lips. "Okay, I admit it: I'm an idiot when it comes to women far more often than I'm not. Contrary to popular belief, though, I _am_ capable of recognizing when I've got something amazing in my hands that's worth holding onto. And if Sheena here doesn't fit that description, then nothing does."

Sheena's eyes widened, not only at his declaration, but at the loving, awestruck, happy look he gave her, and a moment later she couldn't help letting out a soft laugh and looking downward shyly, her face flaring, uncertain whether she should be touched or embarrassed. As complimentary as he'd been of her before this, he hadn't been _this_ direct with his certainty about her, and she suddenly didn't know how to react. As much as she hated being caught off guard like that, though, she couldn't deny how good his words made her feel. And again, she couldn't help wondering just who these people were and how they knew Zelos if he was saying such things in front of them - things he hadn't dared to say in front of anyone else tonight.

"Well, well!" Robert said, his face lighting up further. "Eleanor, would you look at that?"

"Oh, yes, I see it, Robert!" Sheena looked up, alarmed, as Eleanor stepped closer to her and leaned down so she could see her face. As uncomfortable as she still was meeting Eleanor's eyes, the woman's smile truly was kind. " _That_ is most definitely a blush."

Robert's smile widened, and suddenly he looked back at Zelos, his green eyes sparkling. "I am impressed, Chosen. I do believe this is the first time I have seen you with a woman capable of displaying such modesty."

Eleanor, likewise, nodded her approval. "I agree, Chosen. Usually a compliment like that would be met by your date with a ridiculous giggle, a toss of her hair, and a pitifully fake, bashful, _'Oh, Chooooosen,'_ not _this_."

Sheena blinked, scarcely believing she was hearing this woman so pointedly mock Zelos's hunnies like that, but before she could even laugh nervously at their reaction, Zelos grinned again and slid his arm possessively around her waist, drawing her closer to him. "Like I said, guys, Sheena's different than them."

" _That_ much is becoming abundantly clear," Robert murmured.

"Yes, it is," Eleanor agreed.

Thankfully, Zelos finally decided to take pity on Sheena's curiosity, for he looked at her, cleared his throat, and began answering her unspoken questions. "Eleanor and Robert here spent years trying to convince me I was stupid for flitting around with my hunnies and that only 'decent girls' were worth my time, assuming I bothered with any girl at all seeing as I was already technically engaged. They always scolded me whenever they asked about my current girlfriend only to learn she was a different woman than the one I'd been dating the last time I'd seen them." He grinned. "Y'know, kinda like how you used to smack me for how I acted around my hunnies."

"Ah," Sheena replied. Wow. She hadn't known she wasn't the only one who'd pointed out how stupid he'd been with them. But on the other hand, that might explain why he _wasn't_ a complete womanizer if he'd heard the same from people he obviously respected...

Robert's eyebrows rose as he looked at Sheena. "Oh? Is that so, that you also attempted to keep this boy and his wandering hands in line?"

Zelos chuckled as Sheena gave him a knowing grin. "Yeah, Sheena spent years trying to straighten out my attitude toward women, too."

"And now I do believe I have fallen in love with this lady myself," Robert declared, lifting his hand to his heart. "Eleanor, darling, I love you dearly, but I am afraid this is the end of us, for this young, exotic beauty has stolen my heart."

Eleanor chuckled and playfully swatted her husband's arm. "Robert. Behave yourself, you charmer, you." She gave Sheena an appreciative smile. "Although I must admit that I, too, already quite like this woman, Chosen!"

"Yeah, thought you guys might," Zelos said. Grinning broadly, he pulled Sheena even closer to him. "And for the record, sweetheart, Robert here is the one who taught me how I _should_ treat women."

As if she'd needed even more reasons to be impressed by this couple. "Oh, that was you?"

Robert smiled proudly. "Yes, that was me. As you clearly are already aware, this boy here was quite a troublemaker when it came to women, but I taught him how to behave himself and treat a woman properly. I just didn't think he'd actually learned what I was trying to teach him, considering how he used to act. Now, however, it appears he might have learned those lessons anyway. I'm glad to see my patience and frustration with him has finally paid off."

"Yeah, it definitely did," Sheena said. As much as she hated stroking Zelos's ego for fear of eliciting a stupid response from him, he deserved this praise - and she suddenly wanted this couple to know this. She gave him a soft smile. "He treats me well and is an extremely good boyfriend." Thankfully, he proved her trust in him right for instead of replying with a stupid, arrogant line, he blushed again and returned her smile, the love in his eyes as he kissed her cheek again stealing her breath away. After a moment, she looked back at the smiling couple. "I guess I have you to thank for teaching him so well."

Finally slipping back into his more usual self, Zelos huffed, pulled away from her enough so he could see her face, and gave her a mock-affronted look. "Hey, I always knew _how_ to; I just never had any reason to use those 'gentlemanly' skills before you came along!" He shrugged. "Besides, it's not like I could've seriously dated anyone before you anyway."

"Ah, yes, the Chosen's curse," Robert said, releasing a soft sigh. "Such tragedy that curse has wrought your family."

"Yes, it most certainly has," Eleanor said, her face, too, falling. A moment later, however, it perked up a little. "However, have I heard correctly, Chosen, that you have begun negotiations to remove the title from your name and free yourself of that curse?"

The sheer happiness and excitement that lit Zelos's blue eyes as he grinned made Sheena mirror his smile. "You'd better believe it. And as soon as we can work out the details, I - and the rest of my family - will be rid of that accursed title for good."

"Good," Eleanor said with a nod. "I am glad to hear that, and I know your grandmother would be, too. No other heart should ever have to go through what poor Sophia's did."

Zelos looked at Sheena, thankfully once again noticing her uncertainty. "Eleanor and my grandmother were best friends when they were growing up," he explained. "She knows everything my grandmother went through as the Chosen, having to marry a man she didn't love and bear a son whose sole purpose was to carry on our bloodline."

Eleanor cast a knowing glance at Robert and nodded somberly. "Robert here was the object of Sophia's affections for years, and yet because she knew she would never be permitted to be with him, she pushed me toward him instead, and in time, we fell in love and were married. However, I never forgot how devastating that sacrifice was for her - or why she had to do what she did for her family's sake."

"She was such a kind, lovely woman," Robert added. "I could have easily fallen for her myself, but she knew enough not to let me. In her place, she introduced me to Eleanor. We hit it off beautifully and have spent the past 37 years happily married."

Eleanor gave her husband a loving smile, then turned back to Sheena. "After she died, her son, the Chosen at the time and Zelos's father, a bitter, disrespectful man who blamed his mother for his existence and ignored her attempts to teach him a level of respect for his position as the Chosen, wanted nothing to do with us because we reminded him of her, and so we backed away from him. After his death, however, Robert and I took it upon ourselves to try to instill her morals and respect for her family into her grandson here. We did not wish him to fall victim to the same tragic mindset his father had embraced, the mindset that had caused his family so much pain; we wished him to always remember and respect his grandmother's sacrifice. And clearly, he has done so." She turned her gentle hazel eyes to Zelos and smiled. "I truly believe, Chosen, that Sophia would be pleased to learn you have walked in her footsteps and will not suffer the same heartache she did."

Zelos smiled, turning again to Sheena. "As a result, I've known Robert and Eleanor most of my life. After my parents died, they looked out for me, tempting me into spending time with them in exchange for some of Eleanor's homemade cookies. I dropped by whenever I wasn't busy with the king or the church or my hunnies, and they taught me a few things and told me stories about my grandmother." He shrugged and gave the elder couple a knowing grin. "It seemed like a fair tradeoff, listening to these two ramble on for awhile about life and love in exchange for chocolate chip cookies."

Sheena chuckled. Ah. So _that_ was how Zelos had managed to acquire an underlying, albeit occasionally questionable and selfish, sense of right and wrong and a goal for his future, despite his horrible family situation: he'd had patient guidance from these two. No wonder he respected them so much; they'd had a profound impact on his life. "That was very kind of you to do," she told Robert and Eleanor.

Robert shook his head and waved that off modestly. "It was the least we could do for him - and for Sophia, too. Eleanor and I were never blessed with children ourselves, and so we felt it was our responsibility to help Zelos as we did, to make sure his grandmother's memory would live on through him."

"Precisely," Eleanor agreed. "I know Sophia would have done everything she could to help him had she been alive. Since she was unable to do so herself, we filled in for her."

Without warning, Robert motioned at Sheena's neck. "Eleanor, does that look like...?"

Eleanor's eyes narrowed, and she suddenly leaned closer to Sheena. "Why, yes, I believe it is." Her eyes snapped up to Zelos's. "Chosen, this was your grandmother's, was it not?"

"Yeah, it was," he said. "I should've known you'd recognize it, considering how long you two knew each other."

Eleanor gingerly touched the pearl pendant hanging from Sheena's neck, murmuring softly to herself - and suddenly, Sheena grew nervous, uncertain whether she'd be deemed 'unworthy' of wearing this heirloom. "I...I didn't have anything of my own, so Zelos..." she began, but Eleanor quickly shook her head, cutting her off.

"No, no, dear, you need not explain. I believe Sophia would be delighted to see this on you. This was always her favorite jewelry set, a gift to her from her mother. I am certain she would not want it to go to waste when it looks so appropriate on such a lovely lady as yourself." Her eyes snapped up to Sheena's. "Where did you say you were from, dear? I did not recognize your last name."

Oh. Right. Zelos hadn't mentioned that; he'd only told them she was the Emissary of Peace. She glanced at him, unsure whether he was worried about having these people learn he was dating a ninja, but he just smiled and watched her expectantly, letting her answer. Okay, so he didn't mind. And while she was proud of her people, he couldn't help feeling a little nervous about this, too, unsure how they would react to this; she'd really started to like the Pericheks, and if they _didn't_ approve of her heritage...well, she didn't want to reflect badly on Zelos. But she didn't want to lie to them, either, so being truthful was apparently her only answer.

She gave Eleanor a sheepish smile. "Mizuho."

As she'd feared, Robert's eyes narrowed. "The ninja village?"

Sheena swallowed and nodded, but before she could say anything, Zelos tightened his grasp on her waist. "Sheena's in line to become the village's next chief."

She could feel her blush returning. Glancing at Zelos, she was surprised to see he was grinning - almost _proudly_ , she thought. It took her aback and made her question her interpretation of his grin, because why would he be _proud_ about something even _she_ still wasn't certain about, something that was a huge threat to their future and would inevitably end their relationship? Did he really not realize just what that meant for her, for them? Her heart sank a little - but she couldn't deal with that now. At this party, with all these strangers around, definitely wasn't the time to be discussing her fears with him or sorting out what she should be doing regarding their relationship.

"Oh, is that so?" Eleanor said, her eyebrows rising curiously - but Sheena was relieved to see no trace of disgust in her eyes, either. "I must admit, I've never met a ninja before."

"Nor I," Robert said, a smile toying beneath his mustache. "I did not realize the women in Mizuho were this stunningly beautiful. Now I believe I must visit this village myself and see if any of the women there might be interested in an old codger like me!"

Eleanor chuckled and swatted his arm again. "Robert, behave yourself! Don't frighten the poor girl." She smiled sweetly as she looked back at Sheena - and again, Sheena was relieved to see only approval in her eyes. "If all of your people are anything like you, dear, then I must admit I have been under some rather unfortunate misconceptions about your village. And Chosen, I am pleased to hear you have not let similar misconceptions and social barriers stand between yourself and finding love. Love often grows where and when we least expect it, and choosing to pass it by for silly conventions created by the noble class simply to prevent feeling threatened by outsiders is a wise decision. I am proud of you for seeing that truth for yourself and acting on it."

"Thanks." Zelos gave Sheena another loving smile. "Believe me, I'd never forgive myself if I let this opportunity pass me by just because of some stupid people and their stupid social rules."

Robert smiled broadly and bowed his head. "I agree; I, too, am proud of you for making such a choice, Chosen. Sheena is a lovely woman who, from what we have seen, appears to possess many of the traits we hoped you would find. You have done extremely well for yourself since we last saw you. The troublemaking little boy we knew is finally growing up."

"Yes, you have grown into a truly charming man, Chosen," Eleanor added. "And not only are Robert and I proud of the choices you have made that have led you to this, but we are certain your grandmother would be proud of you and the man you are becoming as well."

Seeing a light blush appearing on Zelos's cheeks, Sheena couldn't help smiling and nudging him with her elbow, hoping the gesture would tell him that she, too, had not only fallen madly in love with him, but was proud of how he'd begun taking control of his life and turning it around - but, to her surprise, a dark cloud seemed to settle over his eyes and, despite the blush, his face fell a little. She didn't know what _that_ was about, but before she could try to figure it out, he suddenly forced a smile for them and, clearly taking that as his response, Eleanor clapped her hands together and smiled broadly.

"Oh, you two simply must sit with us during dinner tonight! I would so love to hear more about your village and your life there, dear, now that I know there is more to it than I had been led to believe."

Sheena turned to Zelos, suddenly hopeful - now that it was obvious Robert and Eleanor wouldn't change their opinion of her because she was from Mizuho, she really _did_ want to get to know them better - but Zelos released a regretful sigh. "Believe me, Eleanor, there's no one else we'd rather have dinner with. Unfortunately, though, I'm afraid the tradeoff I'll have to make for missing Princess Hilda's dance earlier will be that we'll have to sit with her during dinner instead."

Robert nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, unfortunately, you are most likely correct about that. She did seem quite distraught that you missed that dance, and that would be an appropriate way to make up for such a disappointment. Since this is her birthday, we cannot have her leaving disappointed tonight."

"As understandable as that reasoning is, I must admit that is a pity," Eleanor said, but then she gave Sheena another warm smile. "Well, then, you _must_ stop by our home sometime, dear. I would love to learn more about your village - and I would especially love to learn more about the special woman who has done what none other has by stealing away our Chosen's heart."

Thankfully, that time when Zelos smiled, it was sincere. "Now _that_ we will happily do."

"Yeah, I'd really like that, too," Sheena said.

" _Especially_ if there are cookies involved," Zelos added with a broad, knowing grin.

Sheena rolled her eyes, but Robert and Eleanor both chuckled. "I believe we can manage that," Eleanor said.

"Then perhaps we should save the rest of this conversation for that time." Robert motioned at the crowd around them. "We still have a few more people we must speak with before dinner and then we will most likely slip away for the night."

Zelos nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Then we'll see you two later."

Everyone bid their goodbyes, during which Sheena was surprised when Eleanor gave her a warm hug and Robert kissed her hand charmingly. And then the older couple was pulling away and vanishing into the sea of people. Zelos stood silently a moment, watching them go, and finally Sheena, curious why he was so quiet, turned to look at him, only to find that not only had his face fallen, but the dark cloud had settled over his eyes again. "Zelos?" she asked.

"Would she?" he whispered to himself.

Her eyes narrowed. He'd said that so softly that she'd barely heard him. "Would who what?" she asked, but he didn't reply, and just like that, it hit her what he was talking about: the look on his face now was the same one she'd seen a minute ago when Eleanor and Robert had been praising the man he was becoming. "You mean your grandmother?" Zelos glanced at her but didn't say anything - but his silence as he looked away again confirmed her hunch. "What are you talking about, Zelos? Of course she would be proud of you. Why wouldn't she be?"

He looked back at her and watched her a moment, his face frighteningly somber, but then he suddenly forced a smile for her - a fake smile, the one she'd seen him giving everyone but her so far tonight - and looked away. "Heh, yeah, of course she would be."

Despite the fake smile, though, his voice was still soft and betrayed definite disbelief. Sheena frowned, simultaneously growing irritated and concerned. "Zelos..."

Before she could continue, though, Zelos cleared his throat, his fake smile fading. "Anyway, I'm glad you got to meet them. I was hoping they'd be here tonight so you could."

Her frown deepened and she folded her arms to her chest. Damn it, he was doing _that_ again - and that, mixed with that stupid smile, made her irritation rise to the point where, at a fancy party or not, she had to growl. "Agh, I _hate_ when you do that," she grumbled.

Instantly, his eyes widened and his head snapped toward her in alarm. "Do what?"

Did he really not know? Okay, maybe he didn't realize he was doing it. While normally she would let it go, this time, because of that fake smile he'd just given her, she wanted him to know this so he wouldn't do it again. "Give me that stupid, fake smile, act as if nothing's bothering you when something clearly is, and then try to distract me by changing the subject when I ask about it. As if your feelings don't matter, or like I'm not good enough for you to share them with."

"...Oh. Heh. Yeah, I guess I have done that, haven't I?" Zelos scratched the back of his neck and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry 'bout that, sweetheart. It's definitely not because I don't feel you're 'good enough,' or anything like that. I just..." He paused, considering that, then lowered his hand from his neck. "I guess even after all this time, I still occasionally have trouble remembering - or believing - that I have a girlfriend who actually cares about my emotional well-being."

Instantly, she softened, her irritation dissipating. Now _that_ she believed. She poked his arm and arched an eyebrow, needing him to know this. "Well, I do. Don't ever doubt or forget that."

"I know," he murmured, his smile growing more sincere. "I'll try not to do it again. I just...I really don't want to think or talk about it right now." He shrugged. "Besides, _this_ just doesn't seem to be the right venue to be hashing out something like that."

 _Okay, so he has a point there_ , Sheena realized, looking around at all the people, some of whom were still watching them. _This, here, now, really isn't the time to be pushing to find out why he doubts his grandmother would be proud of the man he's become._ "Well, I'll give you that much." Her eyes snapped back to his. "Later, then?"

Zelos briefly met her eyes, hesitating, but she just watched him expectantly, and finally he sighed and nodded, clearly unhappy about that but not fighting her anymore. "Yeah. Later."

Good. While she suspected he wouldn't bring it up himself and hoped she'd forget about it, she would let it go for now. And to that end, she would pick up on his earlier, attempted subject change. "Well, I can see why you wanted me to meet Robert and Eleanor." His eyes turned back to hers hopefully, and she smiled. "I like them."

 _Oh, good. He's becoming more certain and happy again_. "Yeah?"

Sheena nodded. "Yeah. They're different from all the other noblemen you've introduced me to here. They're actually nice, and smart, and _real_. In fact, I'm pretty sure they were the first people we talked to who weren't lying to us through their teeth."

He grinned. "Yeah, tell me about it. Their family made their money the old-fashioned way - by working hard to get it - and they've always been very charitable with their fortune. They're one of the few families in Meltokio that I truly admire."

After what she'd just seen, she could believe that. No wonder Zelos admired them. Talk about having a good role model. "I'm looking forward to talking to them again."

"I'm glad to hear that. Me, too." Without warning, though, he sighed again and pulled away from her. "Unfortunately, their description of how distraught Princess Hilda was when I missed her dance reminds me I really should find her, apologize, and try to talk her out of wanting a replacement one later. Oh, and wish her a happy birthday, too." He arched an eyebrow. "Do you want to come with me when I do that? Or would you rather stay here?"

...Oh. Right. Hilda. Sheena cringed at the thought of going with him. If Hilda really did have a crush on him - which she did, not only because he was the Chosen and was one of the most gorgeous men here, but because of that one time he had rescued her - then Sheena suspected she would be better off making herself inconspicuous. Hilda probably didn't realize who his date was yet - since the newspapers had abruptly stopped talking about them two months ago, something Sheena still felt smug about, it was entirely possible Hilda didn't realize how serious their relationship was - and Sheena wasn't sure she wanted to broadcast that fact yet. Chances were Hilda would figure it out over dinner, if Zelos was right that they'd have to sit with her, but there was no reason to rub it in Hilda's face.

She shook her head. "No, that's okay, you go ahead. I'll wait for you."

Zelos watched her a moment uncertainly, but then he smiled. "Probably a good idea, all things considered. Then I'm going to get that out of the way. After that, if all goes well, I shouldn't have to leave your side again the rest of the night. Okay?"

"Okay. I'll be here."

He nodded. "Oh, and do you want some champagne? I can grab some on my way back."

Champagne? Really? Her eyebrows rose, and she couldn't resist smirking. "Are you saying you're actually gonna take a chance and drink the _real_ stuff tonight?"

He returned her smirk. "Eh, it's about time I try something new. Maybe it'll make dealing with some of these people a little easier." He pointed sharply at her. "But I'm counting on you to be my babysitter. If I start saying something I shouldn't, smack me."

Sheena burst out laughing. Now _that_ was something she never thought she'd hear him say. She flashed him a wicked grin. "Gladly."

"Yeah, thought you wouldn't mind that," Zelos replied, eying her warily. "Just don't go overboard with it or these people will deem my girlfriend abusive."

"And going light on you will take all the fun out of it." He chuckled and her grin softened into a smile. "No, seriously, I'll keep an eye on you. And sure, if you find a waiter, I'll take a glass of champagne, too. My nerves could use some loosening up."

Zelos pressed a reassuring kiss to her cheek, then pulled back, giving her a tender smile. "I'll be right back. I promise. Just don't move."

"I won't."

He turned and headed into the crowd, and, unsurprisingly, was almost immediately pounced on by the nearest group of hunnies. Instead of dealing with them, though, he shook his head, walked swiftly past them, and waved them off, soundly informing them, " _Sorry, hunnies, but my heart's not on the market anymore_ ," to which they all stopped and began whining and pouting, which had no effect on him. And Sheena couldn't help it: she blushed and her smile broadened as she watched him vanish into the crowd. It still amazed her, as it had when he'd informed the Pericheks that she was _'something amazing worth holding onto_ ,' that he was that certain about her and about them and was willing to make such a definitive statement about it, leaving no room for doubt in his hunnies' minds.

Granted, a buried but persistent guilt still nagged at her, too, because as much as she loved him and wouldn't trade what they had for anything, she still couldn't see any possible future for them - but then, she'd told herself not to worry about that until the future was imminent, and so she wouldn't. After all, not only was it two months too late to prevent herself from getting 'too attached' to him, but she was determined to follow his mantra, ' _Whatever will be, will be_ ,' and enjoy every second they had together to its fullest. And to that end, she again pushed all thought of that distant, scary future from her mind.

Looking around again, her gaze fell on the hunnies Zelos had brushed aside, only to find them now glaring at her furiously, and it took all her restraint to simply look away from them, not smile smugly at them. But as the minutes passed while she waited, more eyes seemed to be turning to her - a number of men had begun staring at her with alarming lust in their eyes - and she was quickly becoming antsy and nervous standing here alone, with nothing to keep herself occupied and no way of knowing when Zelos would return. And...oh, wonderful. Here came Zelos's fan club toward her, undoubtedly planning to take advantage of his absence to insult her and warn her - _again_ \- to get away from their precious Chosen and go seduce some caveman from Mizuho or she would _'seriously regret it._ ' She had certainly heard enough of those threats from them the past two months.

With a sigh, Sheena closed her eyes and steeled herself, waiting for the inevitable from those stupid, shallow, jealous hussies. _Just remember,_ she told herself, _you can kick their asses if necessary, and the bottom line is that Zelos chose to be here with_ _ **you**_ _, not_ _ **them**_ _. Now if only they would accept that so you don't have to resort to violence, something that would undoubtedly reflect badly on Zelos and get you both in a world of trouble_...

"Sheena?"

Her eyes flew open. Wait...she knew that voice. While it was a man's, it definitely wasn't Zelos's... Turning around, she instantly smiled, all thoughts of the hunnies vanishing amidst her excitement at seeing the man standing there. "Regal!"

"Ah, so it _is_ you," he replied, returning not only her smile but the hug she gave him. They quickly pulled apart and he took in her appearance. "Well, well! Look at you! I barely recognized you."

A blush blossomed on her cheeks...but _oh_ , was it good to see a friendly face here, and especially one she hadn't seen since that party the king had thrown for them to celebrate their successful journey, the one she hadn't spent much time at before she and Zelos had ended up out on that balcony, talking and basically falling in love. "Heh. Honestly, I barely recognize _myself_ looking like this yet. I feel strange and out of place here. Y'know, like I'm pretending to be someone I'm not, like a fish out of water or, as Zelos says, an angel out of heaven."

Regal smiled and bowed his head in understanding. "I feel that way myself all the time lately. Let's just say I became so accustomed to my...previous attire...that dressing up like this," he motioned at his dark gray suit, "again still doesn't feel natural. You truly do look lovely, though, Sheena."

Her eyebrows rose hopefully. "Really?"

His eyes narrowed as if he was surprised she was questioning that. "Of course you do. This dress is beautiful and the color suits you well. You look elegant. In fact, I do believe you look considerably better than any other woman I have seen here so far tonight."

Her blush deepened. Wow. He really seemed to mean that. Talk about a compliment. Thanks to his own high-ranking status as a duke, he had attended plenty of parties like this, and hearing that, in his opinion, she looked okay and like she belonged here really was encouraging. Not that she didn't believe Zelos, but...well, his opinion wasn't typical. "Thanks. Heh. It's nice to get an unbiased opinion for a change."

Regal smiled knowingly. "Well, naturally my opinion is still biased since you are a dear friend, but I suppose I am less biased than, oh, say, someone like the Chosen would be."

And just like that, her eyes widened and her face flared. Oh...right. Regal most likely didn't know about her and Zelos. For the most part, they'd kept their relationship quiet since they'd started dating - tonight being the most showy they'd been since that kiss Zelos had planted on her in Meltokio's upper-class section and his declaration to his hunnies that she was his girlfriend - and without those rumors littering the papers, chances were Regal wasn't aware of it. Robert and Eleanor certainly hadn't known. And if he _didn't_ know, then...well, he was about to find out because Zelos would be back any minute now.

Her gut twisted. As sure as she was about her relationship with Zelos, she hadn't planned on having any of their friends find out about it tonight - and she wasn't sure she _wanted_ Regal, or even the rest of them, to know yet. She and Zelos hadn't discussed whether or not they'd tell their friends about 'them' if they ran into them, nor had they discussed what to do if one of them _did_ find out about it, and so she wasn't sure what to do, if she should try to hide it (which she doubted would work considering Zelos was her _date_ here) or just be open about it. On the bright side, though, this was _Regal,_ the most mature, nonjudgmental of their friends. If she had to choose any of them to break this news to, it would easily be either him or Colette, the only other one she knew wouldn't tease them mercilessly. But still, seeing as honesty would probably be her only choice, explaining to someone why she loved Zelos when they didn't know him like she did and when she couldn't reveal his secrets to explain _why_ she loved him so much would be...awkward.

Ah, well, she would figure that out when the time came. Besides, chances were Zelos would be back soon and she wouldn't have to explain everything herself. Without warning, Regal cleared his throat, and she jumped, realizing she'd never responded to his comment about how biased Zelos's opinion was. _Yeah, great start, Sheena_. _Why don't you just tell him why his mention of Zelos left you so distracted?_

She looked down shyly. "Heh. Yeah, you could say that." _Just not quite how you mean it._

Regal nodded, but then his eyes narrowed as he looked her over again. "Well, as wonderful as it is to see you, Sheena, I must admit, I wasn't _expecting_ to see you here. I was unaware that the king invited his emissaries to these functions, unless that is a more recent policy change. Congratulations on the position, by the way."

"Thanks," she murmured, suddenly wishing she had that glass of champagne Zelos was bringing her so her hands could fidget with something. "You can blame Zelos for that."

"I figured he was responsible for convincing the king to promote you to that position." His eyes narrowed further. "But that does not answer my question."

Well, actually, it _did_ , but Regal didn't know that yet. "I...I was invited by someone other than the king."

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, is that so? So you are here with a date?"

As much as she didn't want to get into this, she'd already said too much, and so she could pretty much dismiss any possibility of keeping this a secret. Sheena bit her lip. "Yeah."

A smile of amazement lit his face. "I never would have thought it. Do I know him?"

While she still didn't feel comfortable volunteering this information, now that she'd decided hiding the truth wasn't an option, there was no reason to lie about it, either. "Y...yeah."

The curious, excited look in Regal's eyes made it obvious he was dying to ask who her date was, but apparently his manners were preventing him from being that direct and so instead he was fishing for details. "I see. Well, I can't imagine Orochi would have been invited by the king if you were not..."

Sheena shook her head, wrinkling her face in distaste at the thought of coming here with _Orochi_ , a man she'd felt far more irritated with these past two months than even friendly toward thanks to his inexplicably out-of-character treatment of Zelos. "No, it's not Orochi."

"Mm," Regal said, his eyes narrowing again. "Is this your first date with this man?"

"No. We've been dating a few months now." _C'mon, Zelos, I could really use you back here to help me explain this_.

"Oh? So this is serious, then?"

She released a soft, nervous laugh, her eyes falling downward again. "You could say that."

When she looked up again, Regal was smiling warmly. "I am glad for you, Sheena. You certainly deserve to find such happiness. So where is he?"

She pulled her stole tighter around her, thankful she had at least that much to keep her from feeling completely naked and exposed. "He's, ah, getting us some champagne. He'll be back in a minute. You'll...figure it out then."

"I see," Regal said, eyeing her curiously again, but then he smiled and nodded. "Then I will wait until he returns to ask any further questions about that."

"...And I'm sure you'll have plenty," she murmured, returning his smile awkwardly.

"Mm, I see." He gave her an amused look, his blue eyes sparkling, but then he sighed and looked around the crowd. "I must admit, though, that I'm surprised I haven't seen the Chosen yet. I expected he of all people would be here tonight, enjoying being in the spotlight as he always does, and yet he did not appear when they announced him earlier, and Princess Hilda seemed rather distressed when he was nowhere to be found during the first dance. And I am not the only one surprised by that; I heard a number of murmurings from the attendees as well regarding that and his apparently more...subdued...demeanor lately. One lady even thought he had become seriously involved with a woman...which is a concept I'm not sure I can fathom when it comes to him."

Oh, yeah, her blush was back. Regal didn't even realize he _was_ asking further questions about her love life by talking about Zelos - or maybe he had suspicions about her date's identity was and was trying to coax answers from her. "Oh, don't worry, Zelos is here...somewhere." She looked around, trying to spot his red hair, but she still didn't see him, and she decided not to try too hard. He'd be back as soon as he could. And as for the rest of Regal's statement...well, she didn't think it necessary to address that yet. Odds were he would see the truth for himself soon enough...assuming Zelos didn't freak out at seeing one of their old friends and pull out the Idiot Chosen act because he wasn't comfortable letting Regal see the real him yet.

Regal chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you, of all people, would know that. I'm sure he has been pestering you tonight as much as he always does."

She let out a soft laugh and toyed nervously with a loose curl of her hair. "Heh. You could say that." _At least in a manner of speaking, just not the one you're thinking of_.

"I'm afraid to think what he has been doing lately...or what kind of trouble he is getting into right now," Regal went on, apparently oblivious to her growing nervousness. "He's a good man, but he does not often think through his words or his actions. His character is best served in small doses, and always only with a grain of salt."

 _She_ might not have touched any alcohol yet, but obviously _Regal_ had, because he wasn't normally one to speak like that about others, especially not a friend. She understood what he was saying, though: until Zelos had lowered his walls and shown her the real him, she'd felt the same way. If only everyone knew how closely Zelos thought through everything he said and did, they would be amazed; every single thing he'd said or done back then, no matter how 'careless' it seemed, had been intentional, performed to manipulate others' perceptions of him and the pieces of his Grand Master Plan. But Regal didn'tknow that, and she refused to address that right now, because doing so would mean betraying Zelos's trust, something she _would not_ do.

So instead, Sheena smiled politely, choosing to adopt one of Zelos's own tactics of diversion and not answer Regal directly. "I think he's talking to Princess Hilda right now."

His eyebrows rose. "Are you certain he hasn't run off again? He has been known to live up to his reputation at these parties by running off with a lady he's interested in and not being seen for the rest of the night." He released a weary sigh tempered by a faint, fond, indulgent smile. "Such as what happened at the last party we attended."

...Oh. Sheena didn't want to know how red her face was, and she really hoped Regal didn't use her embarrassment to figure out that the 'lady' Zelos had run off with then had been _her_. "Yeah, he did, didn't he?" she murmured, albeit unable to resist smiling faintly as she remembered how amazing that night had been.

Regal's eyes narrowed as he observed her. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you since that party, either - and I seem to remember everyone asking where _you_ had vanished to that night as well. We were all surprised since the party was held in our honor."

Damn. So he _was_ piecing it together, wasn't he? Like Zelos, Regal had always been a sharp man who caught most everything going on around him. "Heh. Yeah, I guess I didn't stick around long that night either, did I?"

"Mm," he murmured, eyeing her carefully. "That is why I'm surprised you agreed to come here at all, with or without a date, since it is obvious how little you enjoy these parties."

She let out a soft laugh, looking at all the unfamiliar and, for the most part, unfriendly faces around them. "Well, as much as I may hate these things, I _am_ the king's emissary, and so I figured I should put in some public appearances." Her voice lowered and she glanced back at Regal, smiling awkwardly. That wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth, either, and the disbelieving look on his face told her he recognized that. "A...and besides, I can't run out on my date like that. He's required to be here, and I promised him I'd keep him company."

"Sheena, who...?"

Okay, fine, forget waiting; Regal's curiosity was getting the better of him, and she should just put him out of his misery. She was just about to tell him when a glass of champagne suddenly appeared in front of her. "Here you go, sweetheart."

 _Oh, thank Jizou - Zelos_ _ **and**_ _the champagne_. Sheena took the champagne flute from him and gave him a soft, relieved smile as he stopped beside her. "Thanks."

Zelos nodded his _'You're welcome'_ and took a sip of his champagne, his freed hand immediately going to the small of her back. "Sorry I was gone so long; I kept getting detained by desperate hunnies on my way back here."

Yeah, no surprise there. Naturally, those ridiculous women would use any opportunity they could to try to steal him away for themselves. "That's okay. I've had good company."

She nodded discreetly at Regal, whose eyes, she found, had widened slightly, his lips curling upward, indicating he was now certain of her answer. Zelos grinned as he turned his attention to the other man. "So I see. Duke Bryant. Good to see you again."

Zelos pulled his hand from Sheena's back and extended it to him, and Regal firmly grasped and shook it. "You as well, Chosen."

The instant Regal released his hand, Zelos returned it to Sheena's back and gave her an uncertain smile before looking back at Regal. "I...honestly forgot that you'd be here tonight. It's been so long since you last could."

Sheena didn't doubt he'd forgotten; after all, if he'd realized it earlier, she was sure he would have mentioned it. "Well, except the last two parties," she softly corrected him.

His eyes briefly widened, but then he let out another awkward laugh, the blush returning to his cheeks. "Oh. Right. Sorry 'bout that, Regal. I was a bit preoccupied then. All those women draped over me at the first one, and then the last one...well..." His gaze fell on Sheena and he smiled knowingly, almost a little shyly, before clearing his throat and turning back to Regal. "In any case, it really is good to see you again."

Regal's eyebrows rose further, his suspicions clearly confirmed. "I was just commenting that I had yet to see you tonight. And fear not, I take no offense that the last two parties did not leave a significant impression of me in your mind. It has, after all, been many years since I have been able to regularly attend these events." Zelos gave Regal another apologetic smile and took another sip of his champagne, and a moment later, Regal looked from Sheena to Zelos and then back again, a knowing smile toying on his lips. "So am I understanding this correctly?"

Sheena released a shy laugh, her face growing even warmer. "Yeah, you are." As Zelos just had, she couldn't resist taking a sip of her champagne. She had a hunch she would need its help for the conversation soon to follow.

The grin broke out in full on Regal's face. "Ah, I see. I admit I was starting to suspect as much, but I was having trouble believing what my mind was trying to tell me."

"Heh...yeah, I bet you were," Sheena whispered.

Zelos observed her a moment through narrowed eyes, then he looked at Regal, and finally back at Sheena. "Okay, what am I missing here?"

Sheena bit her lip and tilted her head closer to his, lowering her voice. "Regal just figured out who my date for the night is."

"Ah, I see." Zelos gave them both a tight, awkward grin. "Well, I wasn't planning on _that_ happening tonight, but what's done is done."

"Yeah, me neither," she murmured, taking another sip of her champagne.

Zelos watched her another moment, then turned back to Regal and motioned with his glass at Sheena. "Well, to be honest, Regal, I'm just glad if you were going to hear about this at all, you heard about it from her, not me. If it had been me, you never would've believed it."

Regal's eyebrows rose again. "Quite frankly, Chosen, I'm still not sure I _do_ believe it."

Zelos let out a single laugh, giving Sheena a soft, shy smile. "Believe me, Regal, no one's more surprised by this whole thing than I am."

Mirroring his smile, Sheena lightly nudged him with her elbow. "Except maybe me."

He tilted his head in acknowledgement. "...Except maybe you."

"Ah, I see," Regal replied, watching them both closely. "That actually tells me quite a bit."

Sheena took another sip of her champagne, grateful for the relaxation the alcohol brought with it. If not for that, she knew she'd be feeling extremely uncomfortable being scrutinized again. At least this time it was only Regal scrutinizing them - but still, it felt weird knowing that someone who'd known them since before they'd reached this understanding with each other now knew the truth. She was pretty sure she could tell what was going through his mind right then - _have these two completely lost their minds?_ \- and not knowing yet how he would react to this was...unnerving. Even Zelos seemed uncomfortable, judging from how restless the hand resting against her back was becoming.

After a moment, Regal cleared his throat. "So when did you two start dating? Because I am quite certain you were not a couple during our journey."

"No...definitely not," Sheena replied, then looked curiously at Zelos. "It's been two months now, hasn't it?"

"Officially, two months," he said, taking another sip of his champagne. "Unofficially, if you count that first night, a little under three."

Now why didn't it surprise her Zelos knew those details off the top of his head? Sheena chuckled and motioned at him. "What he said."

The pieces were obviously fitting together for Regal, judging from his knowing smile. "Which would put it at that party the king held for us immediately after our journey ended?"

"You're a smart man, Regal," Zelos said, grinning and lifting his glass in commendation, but then he tilted his head. "Well, that, or we're very obvious."

Sheena snorted and lifted her glass to her lips. "Trust me, Zelos, you're anything but obvious. 'Obvious,' when it comes to you, usually doesn't turn out to be right anyway."

His grin broadened smugly as he watched her take another sip. "I try. Regardless, that was a very good night. Although I have to admit that definitely isn't how I'd _expected_ it to play out. I never would've expected this to be the result, either."

Sheena could feel her blush deepen again, and she gave him another soft smile. "Yeah, me neither. But it was. It was a very good night."

"Mm, I see," Regal said, observing them both another moment, but then he smiled, a hint of teasing and amusement to it. "I must admit I'm surprised Sheena hasn't killed you yet, Chosen, nor that you haven't driven her completely crazy."

And here came the expected disbelief. Not that she could blame Regal for having trouble believing this; she and Zelos really _had_ been at odds during their journey. "Heh. Believe it or not, Regal, he hasn't done anything for which death would be a suitable punishment."

Zelos beamed her a wicked grin. " _Yet_. I'll have to work harder on that."

Sheena chuckled, rolled her eyes, and nudged him with her elbow. "And, even more surprising, yes, I am still sane. Even I haven't figured that one out yet."

"I'll have to work harder on that one, too," he declared, waggling his eyebrows.

She shoved her elbow into his side again. "Idiot." But no matter how stupid his comments were, Sheena knew she was still beaming, and he wasn't resorting _completely_ to the Idiot Chosen routine as she'd been afraid he would, thankfully, and so she knew he wasn't serious about that. Besides, he had more than proven how serious he was about her. With Zelos, his actions really did speak louder than his words - although those were getting to be pretty reliable, too. Oh, how she wished their friends could see him the way she did...

...But that, unfortunately, wouldn't be happening anytime soon. At least Regal was polite enough not to push the issue. "Well, whatever the case, I am glad for you, and I wish you both the best of luck," he said.

Sheena smiled shyly. "Thanks."

Zelos wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, and pressed a tender, lingering kiss to the side of her head, giving her a happy smile as she turned to look at him. He then turned back to Regal and cleared his throat. "So what's been up with you lately, Regal? How's the Lezareno Company doing?"

"Very well, thank you," Regal replied. "Settling back into my old job as president was strange for awhile, but I quickly readjusted."

Zelos grinned knowingly and took another sip of his champagne. "Nice not to be out saving the world for a change, eh?"

"Mm, nice, yes...but I must admit, it has actually been a tad _boring_ compared to that."

Both Zelos and Sheena laughed at that. "Oh, yeah, I can definitely relate," Zelos said.

Sheena nodded. "Same here, actually."

"I thought you might, although my employees are, unfortunately, not as understanding," Regal replied. "They cannot understand why I have begun insisting on regular physical training for everyone, for instance, nor why I have converted the storage area beside my office into an extensive food preparation area. However, other than the occasional bouts of boredom and creating a few new policies, everything is running smoothly. I've had to kill a few of the ideas my company brought forth while I was gone for the sake of preserving good taste, which I suppose one could liken to slaughtering monsters in the wild, but other than that, nothing major has arisen. So what have you two been up to lately?" He smiled and motioned at them. " _Besides_ becoming a couple?"

Zelos shrugged. "Eh, you know. Same old, same old. Dealing with the king and the church, avoiding being groped by my hunnies, taking a trip with my sister, that kind of stuff. Sheena has been, by far, the best part of the last few months."

She blushed again and leaned her head into his arm in a makeshift hug. "Mizuho is doing well, too. Everything is running a lot smoother with Grandpa back. And, y'know, it's been busy, training students, dealing with the king and his jobs for his emissaries..."

"...None of which we are discussing right now," Zelos muttered, his eyes darkening.

"No, definitely _not_ a subject I want to discuss right now," Sheena murmured. She'd had more than her fill of Minister Giannovio for the night, and thinking about all the stupid ideas he'd tried to implement regarding her position and the subtle insults he'd leveled at her in front of the king wasn't on her agenda right now. At least she had Zelos on her side, because if she didn't, she probably would have resigned within a week.

Without warning, Zelos's eyes lit up and he grinned again, lifting his champagne flute. "Ah, but they gave her a house!"

Sheena rolled her eyes, once again unable to restrain her smile. "You and that house."

He gave her an innocent look. "What? I just think it's amazing how much they love you."

Regal smiled, his eyebrows rising in curiosity and amusement. "I must agree with the Chosen, Sheena: that _is_ impressive. I am sure they are grateful that you have safely returned to them after so long away, that you did so much to regain Mizuho's proper standing in Tethe'alla, and that you have agreed to become their future chief."

"That much is obvious." Zelos grinned at her. "It really is a nice house, love."

"Yeah, it's not too bad," Sheena replied, starting to feel uncomfortable with the subject matter of Mizuho and her home - a home that made it clear what her future held for her. She loved the house dearly and was immensely grateful to her people for it, but even she, trying as desperately as she could to bury her head in the sand, couldn't deny the symbol of what it meant for her and for her people.

And for her relationship with Zelos.

"You will make a wonderful chief one day, Sheena," Regal said.

"I hope so." Okay, that was enough; she needed to change the subject before she ruined her night by remembering not only how unfair she was being to Zelos by not breaking this off with him, but how it was already too late to prevent the devastating future she knew was awaiting them. If only she hadn't been so emotionally weak and fallen so deeply in love with him, if only her grandfather hadn't declared her to be his successor, if only real hope existed... "So anyway, Regal," she began again, clearing her throat and forcing those thoughts from her mind, "have you seen the others lately?"

"Other than Presea, who regularly stops by to brainstorm how to begin the reconstruction of Ozette, no, not recently," Regal replied. "Raine dropped by Altamira shortly after our journey ended, wanting to look through our records..."

"Yeah, big surprise there," Zelos muttered.

"...But she didn't stay long," Regal went on, smiling. "And beyond that, no."

Huh. So Regal hadn't seen the others either, eh? "Honestly, I'm surprised Lloyd hasn't stopped by yet, looking for Exspheres," she said. "I keep waiting for him to show up in Mizuho, but he still hasn't."

For some reason, Sheena could feel Zelos stiffen a little, but he didn't say anything, just took another sip of his champagne, and before she could figure out what was bothering him, Regal shook his head. "No, Lloyd has not visited Altamira yet, either. He and Colette must be starting with the Sylvaranti towns."

"Must be," Zelos said, his voice soft, but thankfully his tension was dissipating. "As far as I know, he hasn't dropped by Meltokio yet, either. Or if he did, he didn't stop by to say 'hi'...which would pretty much go against the entire essence of his being."

"So I take it you haven't seen anyone recently, either, Chosen?" Regal asked.

Zelos shook his head. "I ran into Genis in Sybak a few months ago when Seles and I were traveling around the world, but other than Sheena, no, no one."

"Me, neither," Sheena said. "Other than Zelos, of course."

"Of course."

The three fell silent, but then Zelos began again. "So what are-?"

Without warning, his voice cut off, his body froze, and his eyes widened. Sheena looked up at him curiously, but she wasn't sure why he suddenly looked so alarmed. He was clearly listening to something...but all she heard outside of the murmurs of the crowd was a loud, boisterous laugh coming from across the room - which, granted, was a little out of place here amongst all the stiff formality, but it wasn't _alarming._

"Zelos?" she asked softly. "What is it?"

He briefly glanced at her, then at Regal, his face surprisingly somber and pointed. "Okay, I need you both to do me a favor. Regal, just stand where you are. Don't move, and don't turn around and look behind you."

Regal's eyes narrowed. "All right...?"

Zelos turned to Sheena and grasped her arm with his free hand. "Sweetheart, I need you to take a look behind Regal, but don't be obvious about it."

"Okay...?" She might have learned a lot about this man these past two months, but _this_ was completely baffling her. "Zelos, what's going on?"

Releasing her arm, he lifted a finger for her to hold that question. "Do you see a guy with fairly short red hair anywhere in the crowd?"

For a moment, Sheena eyed him warily, but then she peeked around Regal, scanning the crowd. It didn't take her long to notice a man matching the description - bright red hair was hard to miss. "Tall guy, somewhat good looking, talking to some of your hunnies?"

Sheena glanced back to him, only to find he was frowning and shaking his head in either dismay or anger - she wasn't sure which. " _Crap_. I was afraid I recognized that laugh." He huffed. "I can't believe this. Of all nights, why did he have to show up _tonight_?"

A quick look at Regal yielded no answers as to what Zelos was muttering about - he looked just as confused as she felt - and so she touched Zelos's arm again, trying to regain his attention. "Zelos?"

He didn't hear her, though - or if he did, he still didn't look at her or answer her question. "Damn it. Can't we have a _single_ date in Meltokio that isn't hijacked by crazy stalkers?"

 _'Crazy stalkers'_? Okay, seriously, enough was enough. She needed answers. She squeezed his arm tighter, forcing him to look at her. "Zelos, what are you talking about? Who is that guy? And, more importantly, why do you care?"

Finally - _finally_ \- Zelos looked at her and sighed, his face softening. "His name is Matthew Fenimore." He arched an eyebrow at Regal. "Have you heard of him?"

Regal thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't say that I have, although I assume he is part of the Fenimore Corporation, which is a rival of the Lezareno Company." He shrugged. "But then, I have spent many years out of touch with upper class society so it is only natural I do not yet recognize the names of every Fenimore heir."

"...Right. And he wasn't invited to the last two parties here." Zelos waved that off with his hand. "Anyway, for years he's deemed himself to be _my_ 'rival,' _my_ 'competition.'"

Yeah? And? So? But? Therefore? Sheena still couldn't figure out why he was so upset about this guy. "Rival how?"

"He's determined to one-up me in everything. _Everything_. Anything I have, anything I want, he tries to get for himself. _Especially_ women. Any girl I've shown even the remotest interest in, he's swarmed onto her like a fly to a dead egg bear. And the worst part is, once he's narrowed in on a woman he thinks I want, he _will not_ leave her alone. Not until she either jumps into bed with him or takes out a restraining order on him."

Sheena blinked at him, tempted to burst out laughing - it was cute that he had a copycat, especially since the man she'd seen looked harmless and like a complete pushover - but she bit it back because Zelos seemed to be sincerely upset about this. "And...what? You don't really think if he came on to me that I'd run off with him, do you?"

Zelos shook his head, his face wrinkling in frustration and impatience. "Of course not."

"So then what's the problem? I think I can handle myself against an obnoxious, persistent idiot." She couldn't resist smirking and poking his chest. "I certainly handled _you_ well enough for six years, didn't I?"

Finally, the harshest of the edge on Zelos's face softened, and he let out a soft laugh that made Regal's eyes narrow slightly. "Yeah, you did, and believe me, love, I know you're capable of handling this guy yourself." He gently brushed a curl back from her face, but the seriousness quickly returned to his eyes. "But you shouldn't have to. Trust me, if he finds out I'm here with you, our night will be ruined. We won't get a minute of peace. No matter what you try, he _will not_ leave you alone. I've seen it before, many times. And while yes, you handled me well enough for six years, this is a little different."

Her eyes narrowed. "How so?"

He arched an eyebrow, his fingers lowering from her face and seeking out her hand. "Well, you know the guy you always thought I was? The guy I made a point to act like for years?"

"You mean the guy you turned out _not_ to be?" she said, to which Zelos nodded.

"Yeah, him. Well, Matthew is the real deal...and then a hundred times worse than I _ever_ was."

Okay, _now_ she was getting concerned. " _Worse_?"

"Yeah, worse. I may have threatened to grope you, but he actually will...and then he'll try to do a whole lot more than just _grope_." Her face fell, and his frown deepened. "Let's just say all the kids with red hair who are running around Tethe'alla - the ones I'm always suspected of having fathered, even though I'm definitely _not_ related to them - are his, not mine. And while nothing's ever been proven, it's debatable whether all those kids are by their mothers' choice."

Her eyes widened and her heart sank. Yeah, okay, that was bad. Now she was starting to understand why Zelos was so upset. " _Oh_."

"Exactly. And while I'll admit I've had fun playing with that in the past, depending on how much I liked the woman I was seeing at the time, I'm not doing that with you, Sheena. I refuse to put you through that." Zelos smiled wistfully and gave her hand a tender squeeze. "The last thing I need is you refusing to come to another party with me for fear of running into _him_ again - or, worse, you losing your cool and having to beat him up to get rid of him and, in the process, being kicked out and permanently banned from these things. Like it or not, I'm kinda required to be here, and even though we've only been here an hour, I can already tell you this thing is infinitely more bearable with you by my side. And so, well, let's just say I'm hoping I'll be able to bring you again sometime."

Heat flooded her face at the compliment, and a glance at Regal showed that he was still watching with great interest, a single blue eyebrow raised. She quickly looked back at Zelos. While she now understood his reasoning, how did he propose they fix the problem? "So...what are you saying? That we can't spend the rest of the night together because it'll tip him off that we're dating?"

Without warning, Zelos smirked, his eyes sparkling, warning her that something stupid was coming. "Heh. Looking forward to dancing with me, eh?"

Her blush deepened as he waggled his eyebrows, especially when Regal tilted his head, clearly curious how she would react to that, but she just...couldn't be mad about that. Not right now, when this was bothering him and he was probably trying to figure out if she really _was_ eager to dance with him. Really, she had a hard time getting mad at him at _all_ for acting stupid anymore. For keeping things from her and giving her that fake smile, yes, but not for saying stupid things, not when she knew the truth about his feelings for her and why he resorted to using such tactics.

After a moment, she sighed, her eyes falling shyly from his. "Well...yeah, actually, I was."

Instantly, his smirk faltered and his eyes widened, as if her willingness to admit that had taken him aback, but his face quickly softened into a loving smile. "Yeah...me, too," he murmured, lifting his fingers to her cheek again.

Sheena leaned into his hand and returned his smile, her heart skipping a beat, but then she took a deep breath and motioned behind where Regal was standing, blocking Matthew from view. "So since we aren't ready to leave yet, what do you suggest we do about that guy?"

Zelos observed her a long moment, considering that, but without warning, his smile grew sheepish. "Well, I have an idea...but you won't like it."

Uh oh. That didn't sound promising. Usually when he had an 'idea,' he always made it clear she would be okay with it, no matter how bizarre it was - and she usually was - but for him to say she _wouldn't_ like this one? Her eyes narrowed warily. "And what exactly does this 'idea' of yours entail?"

He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "...Heh."

And now he was afraid to _tell_ her? Her eyes narrowed further and her hands suddenly twitched, itching to smack him and get him talking already. "Zelos..."

He lifted his hands and motioned for her to calm down. "Okay! Okay. Basically, it involves me hitting on some random hunny and making him think she's the girl I _really_ want to be with tonight so he zeroes in on her, and then coming back to you, thus giving him the impression you're just a...consolation prize...and, therefore, not someone he needs to bother with."

Her jaw dropped. Was he _serious_? "You want to do _what_?"

"Shh!" he quickly hushed her, setting his champagne on a nearby table, grasping her arms, and leaning closer to her. "Keep your voice down. Don't get his attention." Okay, so he was right, she probably had been too loud about that, but still...was he _out_ of his idiotic, perverted little _mind_? "Heh. Told ya you wouldn't like it."

Agh, she couldn't believe he'd even suggest something like that! Just the thought of him hitting on some other girl, _while she was watching_ , was enough to make her twitching hands clench into fists. For the first time since they'd started dating, Sheena was seriously tempted to punch his lights out, storm out of there, and take advantage of the opportunity to finally break up with him like she should have done months ago. The only thing that held her back was the fact that this really was the first time he'd suggested something that made her want to slug him. Well, that and the sheepish, apologetic, worried smile on his face.

"No, I most certainly do not!" she hissed back to him.

Zelos ran his hands over her arms soothingly, his face pleading. "Listen, sweetheart, you and I both know the truth, all right? In fact, most people here tonight probably do. _You_ are the woman I'm in love with and the only person I want to be here with. But I'm pretty sure _he_ doesn't know that - or, if he does, this should divert his attention elsewhere - and I'll be damned if I don't get to spend some quality time here with you. Whatever it takes to get to the point where we can enjoy the rest of the night without having to worry about _him_ interfering, I'm willing to do it. Are you?"

Sheena tried her best to glare at him, but he was looking at her with so much earnestness, guilt, and apology that it quickly softened. She hated this, and a part of her couldn't help questioning how much he really did love her if he could even _suggest_ this, and another part was telling her that, honestly, she'd been expecting him to run off on her with another woman for months now...but the truth was that she was positive he wasn't trying to pull one over on her. Zelos was not, and never had been, the man she'd always believed him to be, and she didn't have a single doubt that he'd been showing her the 'real him' the past few months. The man she'd fallen in love with was real; he never would have showed her off tonight to the Pericheks, a couple he highly respected, and made it clear he deemed her _'something amazing worth holding onto'_ if he wasn't, nor would he have shaken off his hunnies and told them his _'heart's not on the market anymore_ ' as he had.

More than that, though, if he wasn't serious about her, then he never would have promised not to pressure her for sex - and, even more telling, he never would have steadfastly held to that promise the past two months. If all he wanted was sex, after all, there was no reason for him to have stayed with _her_ to get that. It wasn't like he had any shortage of women who would be thrilledto jump into bed with him, so knowing her limitations, why would he bother with her at all? No, Sheena knew he loved her, and she believed he knew what he was doing now. Besides, he hadn't gone behind her back with this; he was explaining his plan upfront and letting her voice her objections first. And chances were if she really didn't want him to do this, then he wouldn't, and they'd just leave. Zelos wouldn't hurt her, not now, not like this. And if he did...well, then, she could finally clear her conscience by dumping him once and for all.

Sheena released a low sigh and nodded curtly. "Okay, fine. I trust you, Zelos."

Instantly, he gave her a soft, sweet, relieved smile, leaned down, and pressed a tender kiss to her cheek, whispering, "Thank you," in her ear. Without warning, though, he pulled back and his smile turned decidedly mischievous. "And just to make this worth your while...have any of my hunnies been especially obnoxious to you the past two months?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Now what are you scheming?"

His grin grew downright _dastardly_. "You'll see. Trust me, this part you'll like."

Sheena eyed him another moment warily, but then she peered past Regal at the hunnies Matthew had been talking to earlier. Matthew himself had wandered off to mingle with another group of women a short distance away, full glass of champagne in hand...wait, hadn't it just been empty a minute ago? That meant he was drinking quite a bit. Good, maybe that meant Zelos's plan really would work. Now, as for the hunnies...

It didn't take her long to spot the one she had in mind. "Her," she said, pointing at the culprit. "The blonde in the green dress. I think her name is Greta."

Zelos poked his head around Regal so he could see. "Yeah, that's Greta...hey, really? Greta treats you the worst?"

"Oh, absolutely. Every time she sees me, she..."

"Ah!" Zelos quickly pulled her back behind Regal's towering form and pressed a finger to her lips. "Hold that thought, because if you tell me, I'll want to smack her, and that won't work with what I have planned. But I do want to hear this later, okay?"

...Oh. Right. And that, too, just reinforced he wasn't out to cheat on her, not if he was letting her pick the woman with whom he 'cheated' - and who obviously wouldn't be walking away from this happy. She nodded. "Okay."

He grinned. "Just watch. This will only take a few minutes. Oh, and Regal? Think you could do me one more gigantic favor?"

Regal's eyebrows rose, a smile toying on his lips as he folded his arms to his chest. "I'm almost amused enough by this entire display to say 'yes.'"

Zelos waved that off. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Just...dance with Sheena until I'm back, okay?"

Regal smiled and bowed his head. "I believe I can handle that." His eyes turned back to Sheena and he arched an eyebrow. "Is that all right with you, Sheena?"

Her gaze snapped back to Zelos. She wasn't sure if having her dance with another man was part of his plan, if it was his attempt to keep other men from hitting on her while he busy, or if he was trying to distract her from what he was about to do, but whatever his reasoning, she couldn't see anything problematic about it. She might still be uncomfortable with his scheme, but she did understand it, and really, he had yet to give her any reason _not_ to trust him with this. Besides, she could tell that whatever he was planning, he wasn't happy about it either and was only doing it to guarantee that the rest of their night would go smoothly. All things considered, how could she argue?

She sighed again, then gave Regal an appreciative smile. "Of course, Regal. I'd like that."

Zelos smiled, then leaned in and pressed another tender kiss to her cheek, letting his lips linger there longer than strictly necessary before whispering in her ear, "Love you."

Sheena could feel her face flare again. It felt strange to be expressing such a direct level of emotion in front of a friend, but she smiled anyway as he pulled back to look at her, needing him to know that not only did she trust him, but she loved him, too. "You, too."

He gave her one last happy smile, his eyes shining with unbridled love, but then he sighed, grabbed his glass of champagne from the table, and downed half of what remained in a single gulp. Taking a deep breath, he then stepped away from them and began wandering through the crowd, slowly heading in Greta's direction, that infamous, appallingly fake smile reappearing on his face as he stopped to talk to people on his way. Sheena sighed, hating to see how effortlessly he could still summon the mask, even after two months of only sporadic use, but at least it was easier to bear knowing the truth about him - and especially knowing he didn't intentionally use it with her. It made her feel special, actually, not only knowing she was the only one who regularly got to see him without the mask on, but also seeing how he went out of his way to accommodate her wishes, even to the point of doing something uncomfortable like showing her his real self, simply because she preferred that man over his counterpart.

For a moment she watched him wander through the crowd, until suddenly Regal spoke, regaining her attention. "Well, I must admit that is perhaps the most surprising and interesting display I have witnessed in weeks."

Sheena chuckled, looking down at her glass of champagne shyly. "One thing Zelos is not is boring. I'll give you that."

Regal grinned. "Some things change; other things apparently never do."

 _You have no idea, Regal._ "No, I guess not."

He stood silent a moment, eyeing the crowd, then cleared his throat. "In any case, Sheena, would you care to dance?"

Regal extended his arm to her, and after a moment she smiled, nodded, finished her champagne, set the glass on the table, and looped her arm through his. He led her toward a spot where a number of people were dancing, close enough that they could see and hear Zelos. It took Sheena a moment to find her feet as Regal grasped one of her hands and placed his other hand to her back, inexperienced as she was with dancing - the last person she'd danced with had been Lloyd, and he'd been even worse at this than she was - but at least for as clumsy as she could be, she was also confident enough that she could hold her own in these situations, and soon she was comfortable following Regal's lead. Casting another glance at Zelos, she could see him swing close to where Matthew was - and judging from how Matthew had finally started watching Zelos, that had been his intent, to get Matthew's attention and make it known he was mingling on his own and was, therefore, dateless. Satisfied that Zelos was still laying out the framework for his 'show,' Sheena turned her attention back to Regal, who offered her another smile.

"So," he began, nodding faintly in Zelos's direction, "I see the Chosen finally succeeded in winning your heart after all."

...Oh. Right. It was apparently time for the interrogation over her choice to date _Zelos Wilder_ to begin. She looked down shyly, her blush returning. "It...it wasn't like that."

"No, I imagine it was not or you wouldn't have remained with him this long," Regal replied, giving her a faint but thankfully reassuring smile. "One night, I could understand. One week, I could understand as well. But you would not still be together after two months if that was how the scenario played out. I suppose I am most surprised that you were willing to give him such a chance in the first place."

For a moment, Sheena didn't reply; she just glanced again at Zelos, who was still wandering through the crowd. What should - and _could_ \- she say to make this situation more believable to someone who didn't know the man she was dating? Zelos had spent their entire journey teasing and provoking her, quite publicly at times, and she had responded by rising to his bait, insulting him, and smacking him senseless, and now, only three months later, they were seriously dating? It made sense to _her_ , knowing why her perception of him and his attitude toward her had both changed so drastically, but no one else knew that, and she couldn't tell them without revealing things she'd promised Zelos she wouldn't tell anyone. She wished Zelos would just reveal the truth to them like he had to her, so others could get to know the real him and understand why he'd acted as he had, but she did understand why he didn't feel comfortable doing so after all the brainwashing the church had done to convince him no one would ever accept him for _him_. For such an 'arrogant' man, he really was insecure about that part of himself. It was sad things were this way, especially when she knew their friends would gladly accept him for his real self if only they knew the truth.

And suddenly, she wanted to try, without saying too much, to get that point across to Regal - _Regal_ , the one most likely to understand without pushing too hard since he knew what it felt like to try to hide part of himself from his friends, fearing what they would think of him. She wanted at least _one_ of their friends to understand Zelos, even just a little, so maybe he, too, could show Zelos it was okay for him to be himself with more people than just her. Maybe Regal could even start looking for the scared little boy hiding inside the man, show him he accepted him, and then draw him out more regularly. It was certainly worth a try.

Now, to do that without accidentally saying something she shouldn't. Sheena chewed on her lip a moment, choosing her words carefully, then sighed and looked back up at Regal. "There's so much more to him than any of us ever guessed. None of us ever really knew him, not even me. We all thought we did, but the truth is we knew nothing about him. And that's exactly how he wanted it to be."

Without warning, Zelos's words from three months ago returned to her, about how he'd been so disillusioned with life that he'd nearly resorted to the most drastic of measures to be free of it by attacking them...and how he'd known exactly what would have happened to him if he had. The mental image flashed through her mind again of the man she now loved so desperately lying on the ground before them, bloody and dying, giving up and wanting to die and end his pitiful existence...and she had to squeeze her eyes shut and forcefully shove that image away as her gut twisted and nausea struck her. If only their friends knew how close he'd come to it, how fate and a coin flip had nearly ended his life that day, she was positive they would see him differently. _She_ certainly had.

Thankfully, even though she couldn't tell Regal that, he still nodded somberly. "I always suspected there had to be more to him than what he showed us, and your choice to give him this chance confirms that that 'other side' truly does exist. I strongly doubt you would be seriously dating him, nor that your relationship would have lasted this long, if all there was to him was what we saw during our journey and what rumors claimed him to be."

"Believe me, there is," she whispered, her gaze darting at Zelos again. "There's so much more to him that sometimes I still have trouble seeing this man as the same one we traveled with. And the rumors...well, that's all they are: rumors." Her eyes snapped back to Regal's. "But you said it yourself, Regal: he's a good man. Beneath the stupid act, he has a good heart. That's one thing about him that's never been a lie or an act."

Regal smiled softly. "I must admit, I had difficulty believing the rumors that he had become more subdued could be true, but what I saw tonight was convincing. He truly does seem calmer than I have ever seen him before."

'Subdued' and 'calm' were two terms Sheena was pretty sure she would never use to describe Zelos herself - he was, after all, _the_ most unpredictable, energetic, excitable man she'd ever met - but she understood what Regal was saying, and she understood what the gossip and rumors were getting at, too. "Heh. You have no idea."

"As I said, I had an inkling that what we saw could not be all there was to him," he replied. "He just made it so difficult at times to believe and to see past the foolish, arrogant, childish, skirt-chasing man he typically appeared to be. Digging too deeply with him usually resulted in his insulting you in some way."

Sheena let out a soft laugh. Yeah, she supposed that was true for some of them, like Regal. In her case, though, it had taken on a more obnoxious form: Zelos pushing every single one of her buttons, either by calling her names like 'hunny' or 'banshee,' hitting on her, or threatening to grope her. If she'd known that was merely a defensive tactic, as a way for him to get her to leave him alone, she never would have let herself fall for it. "Believe me, you're not telling me anything I don't already know. It took some very unusual circumstances - and a once-in-a-lifetime chance occurrence - before I could get past that wall and start seeing the truth for myself. And now...now I know better." She paused, weighing what she could safely tell Regal. "All he's ever really wanted is to be accepted and respected for who he really is, to not have to act like the Idiot Chosen everyone expects from him all the time, to have others trust him and put their faith in him. We always saw him as foolish and careless, but he wasn't, not at all. Every choice he made, whether it was how he acted or what he said...he had a reason for it."

Regal tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowed. "And obviously you found those reasons to have merit."

She smiled shyly and nodded. "Yeah, I did. They're probably not the choices I would've made in his position, but I can understand why he made them, and I don't hold them against him. I don't think any of us can fully comprehend what his life was like before our journey, how frustrating, depressing, and lonely it was. And now, as difficult as it is for him to let go of the act...well, I think you can see the result for yourself."

"Yes, I can. And truthfully, if his life was as difficult as you are implying, then I am glad he has found someone he trusts enough to confide in as he clearly has with you. Perhaps that, in and of itself, is why he has begun calming so drastically." Without warning, however, his face grew somber and intense. "However, please do not be offended by this question, Sheena, but as your friend, I must ask it. Are you _certain_ he is not merely playing another game with you, that he has learned the most effective way to get to you and is utilizing that?"

It saddened her that he had to ask that at all, and yet she understood why he had. She just wasn't sure how to express her certainty about Zelos in a way that would persuade him now; after all, it wasn't any of Regal's business that Zelos had promised her he wouldn't push her for sex and had then followed through on that promise, despite how 'stupid' he found the restriction to be, nor could she explain how much it meant to her that he hadn't - or how it proved to her that yes, he truly did love her. Whether she could explain it or not, though, she would certainly try.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I have no doubt he's serious about this. I would've noticed by now if he wasn't. In the past two months, he hasn't given me any reason not to trust him, and there hasn't been a single sign of his usual womanizing games. And believe me, I've been looking for them."

His faint smile returned, and he bowed his head. "Then I will trust your judgment and hope he proves you right about that. As I said, what I witnessed tonight was convincing. And if that is what you have seen these past two months and he has given you no reason to believe otherwise, then I will defer this judgment to you."

"Thanks." Sheena bit her lip again as she cast another glance at Zelos, who was still wandering through the crowd, making his way closer to Greta, then she looked back at Regal, her voice lowering. "He wasn't trying to make me fall in love with him, Regal. And looking back now, that's why I did." Regal smiled softly, and her eyes briefly fell to his gray suit. "It just...happened. I caught him in a rare moment when his guard was down, and he tried to push me away before the rest of it fell, but...I'll probably never know why, but I didn't run away from him that night, no matter how many buttons he tried to push. I guess I saw something there that made me want to see more. I had to fight to win his trust and get him to lower the rest of his walls with me, but...well, what he showed me was worth the effort. I liked what I learned about him. There's so much more to him than I ever imagined possible. He's not the man he's always pretended to be, nor the man rumor claims he is. I wish I could tell you all the details so you could see him the way I do, but I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone. He trusted me enough to tell me, and I refuse to betray that trust."

Regal shook his head. "Don't worry, Sheena. I would never ask you to do so."

Exactly as she'd expected. Oh, was she glad Regal had proven her right. And if _he_ was willing to give Zelos the benefit of the doubt, then she suspected their friends would react similarly. Most of them, anyway. "Thanks. I appreciate it. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of times he still acts as stupid and obnoxious as ever, and he's not comfortable letting others see the 'real him' very often yet - although he did better with you tonight than I expected him to - but the man behind the mask...if he ever lets you meet him, I'm positive you'll like him."

"That explains how your opinion of him changed so drastically that it led to such a serious relationship," Regal said. "Of all people, you would have the most right to dismiss him considering how he used to treat you. Knowing you like what you have found in him, though, then I, too, will endeavor to find the man hiding beneath the act."

Sheena smiled. That was exactly what she wanted: an ally who would try to get Zelos to act more like himself with people other than her. So far, explaining this to Regal had gone extremely well, and she was suddenly glad that, despite the awkwardness of being discovered like this, they _had_ run into him tonight. "Thank you. I'm sure if Zelos knew that, he'd thank you, too."

Regal bowed his head again. "Regardless of his questionable choices, he is still a dear friend who saved our lives, and I owe it to him to give him the same chance you have. Perhaps if you and I make our willingness to do so clear, the rest of our friends will do so as well."

"I hope so," she murmured, looking again at Zelos, who was now only a few yards away from Greta.

But then, that thought actually sat rather uncomfortably with her, too, and she quickly realized why. Zelos wasn't ready to face their old friends like that yet - heck, he was barely comfortable being himself around _her_ yet - and really, she wasn't ready to try to explain their relationship to them yet, either, nor to deal with their questions and insistence that she was making a mistake dating an 'idiot' like him. Even though Regal, too, hadn't seen anyone else lately, it was just as likely that he would run into them as it was for her or Zelos. One of these days they'd have to discuss how to handle any future run-ins with their friends, but until that happened, Sheena knew she had to ask Regal this to take the pressure off of Zelos, at least for awhile.

"Listen, Regal, can I ask you to do us a huge favor?" she began again.

His eyes narrowed as if to say, _'You need to ask?'_ "Of course, Sheena."

"I...I really hate asking you to keep secrets, but if you happen to see Lloyd or the others, could you, um, not mention this to them?" she ventured. "It's not like I'm embarrassed for anyone to know we're dating, but...well, we both know what the typically held view of him is."

Regal arched an eyebrow. "That he is an irresponsible, arrogant, narcissistic womanizer?"

 _You forgot 'perverted_ ,' her mind added, but she didn't bother mentioning that because, well, even now, Zelos's mind was _still_ perverted more often than it wasn't. Instead, she grinned. "Yeah, that. And unless they've seen him _not_ acting like that...well, I can't say I'm eager to find out how they'd react to learning we're dating. We're just not ready for that step yet."

"Mm, yes, I see your point," he replied, nodding thoughtfully. "It is unlikely they would be quite as understanding if they had never seen him like this, especially if the Chosen is still too uncomfortable with himself to _let_ them see it."

Oh, good. She'd known he would understand. "And because I did promise him I wouldn't share his 'secrets' with anyone else...well, it would be awkward trying to explain _why_ I love him so much when they don't have all the other background information. I'm not exactly eager to have certain people insisting I should dump him or trying to convince him he's not 'good enough' for me. Y'know, stupid stuff like that. I love him too much to put us both in the awkward position of having to fend off all the questions, teasing, and disbelief."

"Of course. And please don't worry, Sheena. Your secret is safe with me - although I must warn you that if your relationship continues, they _will_ eventually find out about it."

"I know. And hopefully by the time that happens, we'll be ready for it." She laughed softly. "The truth is, we really weren't expecting you would be here tonight. I'm just glad if anyone had to find out about us before we were ready for it, it was you."

Regal smiled warmly. "Believe me, Sheena, I am in no position to judge your choices. I have experienced more than my share of romantic drama, and I would never make your relationship any more difficult than it already might be."

Sheena returned his smile, recognizing what he was referring to: Alicia, and her tragic fate. "We know."

"And besides," he went on, "from my perspective, it truly appears you both have made the choice that is right for you. I am glad for you, Sheena. You truly seem to be happy."

Her blush returned and the smile reappeared on her face. He had no idea how accurate that was. "Yeah, I am. More than I ever thought I'd be, especially with _him_."

"It looks good on you. And from what I saw, it appears the Chosen, too, is truly happy."

That, too, would never fail to amaze her. Sheena's eyes darted at Zelos, and seeing the obnoxious, fake smile on his face now just reminded her of all the _real_ smiles she'd seen from him the past two months - smiles she was slowly but surely learning to evoke and that made her heart simultaneously melt and soar whenever she managed it. "Yeah, he is, too."

Regal nodded knowingly. "Likewise, it is obvious you have given this significant consideration before reaching these conclusions. I would be concerned if you had not, if you had merely fallen victim to his charms, but I cannot deny what I saw tonight. Rest assured that your relationship is your business, and I will not betray your confidence."

She and Zelos truly were blessed to have such a mature, understanding friend. "Thank you, Regal. We really do appreciate it."

"Of course. You would do no less for me."

Sheena gave him a warm, grateful smile that he returned, and then, with that taken care of, they slipped into silence as they continued dancing. She looked around, quickly spotting Zelos again...ah, he'd finally reached Greta. He briefly turned back toward Sheena and, seeing she was watching him, gave her a knowing smile that she mirrored, blushing, then he took a deep breath, puffing himself up, and turned toward Greta.

She nodded discreetly in Zelos's direction. "Looks like the show's about to start."

Regal glanced in the indicated direction. "Do you wish to get closer so we can hear this?"

"Sure," she replied, and they slowly began inching their way closer, under the guise of dancing. Seeing Zelos's eyes light up as he walked toward Greta, Sheena couldn't resist smirking. "Here we go."

"Why, _hunny!_ " Zelos exclaimed, loudly enough that Matthew - and probably half the room, too - could hear him. " _Here_ you are! I was looking _all over_ for you!" He immediately grasped her right hand and, beaming her a charming smile, lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss - a very _brief_ kiss, Sheena noted, stifling her annoying flare of jealousy - to the back of it.

Greta's eyes narrowed as she watched him. "Chosen. Aren't you here with that trampy _girlfriend_ of yours?"

Even from their distance, Sheena could still see the anger flash through his eyes at the insult - _yep, Zelos, you heard her right, and that's_ _ **mild**_ _compared to some of the other adjectives she's used to describe me_ \- but it quickly vanished again behind the mask. "Oh, her? Nah, not anymore." He released a sad, showy, exaggerated sigh, his hands sweeping outward to express his 'dismay.' "I had to break up with her. She was getting too jealous of _you_ , my sweet hunny. Kept whining about how I was pining over Greta. Greta this, Greta that. I can't handle that kind of nagging when she should _know_ my heart belongs to one hunny only! Besides, how could I pay _her_ any attention when you look _so_ _lovely_ tonight!"

Sheena snorted and rolled her eyes as Greta immediately began smiling, giggling, and toying coyly with her hair, buying his ridiculous act. It was obvious to her that Zelos had just lied through his teeth; his over-the-top voice and sweeping hand gestures were dead give-aways, even if Greta didn't seem to catch it. No, Sheena had heard him when he was being sincere, and there was no similarity to what she'd just heard.

"I know what you said, Sheena, but are you _certain_ you want to date that man?" Regal said, his eyes narrowing, but the hint of amusement in them told her he was only teasing.

She grinned. "Trust me, Regal, _that_ is definitely _not_ the man I'm dating."

"For your sake, I _hope_ not."

Zelos held out his arm to Greta. "Shall we dance, hunny?" he asked suavely.

"Oh, of _course_ , Chosen!" Greta said, looking like she'd just won 10 million gald. "I've been waiting with bated breath for this very moment _all night_!"

With a ridiculously pathetic giggle, she threw herself onto Zelos's left arm, clutching it as if for dear life. Sheena could see Zelos tense at Greta's possessive hold, and she was certain he'd just frowned and rolled his eyes as he looked away from Greta, but then he gave Greta a saccharine sweet smile and led her toward an area where couples were dancing. Grinning broadly, Greta looked around at everyone, clearly pleased to be showing off her unexpected 'conquest,' and unsurprisingly, the moment she spotted Sheena watching her, she gave her a nasty, smug, _'Ha, I've got your boyfriend!'_ glare. Sheena, however, just smirked right back at her. While she still wasn't sure about Zelos's game plan, somehow she didn'tthink Greta would be feeling so smug once he'd finished playing all of his cards. She also noted that Zelos went out of his way to walk directly past Matthew, who immediately stopped talking to the brown-haired woman he'd been flirting with and watched Zelos and Greta walk by, before suddenly grabbing the woman's hand and dragging her along with him, following Zelos, forcing her to dance with him. Whatever game Zelos was playing, he was very carefully putting the pieces into place.

Soon after passing Matthew, Zelos picked a spot and stopped, and a moment later, he and Greta started dancing - and again, Sheena noted, not only was he being careful where he placed his hands, but he was keeping far more distance from Greta than she'd ever seen him keep when dancing with a hunny. And that just eased Sheena's remaining concerns. He wasn't enjoying this; every time he looked at Greta, he was giving her that smooth, fake, Chosen's smile, the one Sheena now knew said, _'I hate this and want out of this, but I can't let anyone see that'_...the one that bore no resemblance to the real smiles Sheena saw from him. But Greta either didn't notice that or didn't care, for she just continued gazing up at him with utter adoration, smiling coyly, batting her eyelashes, and gripping his hand and shoulder far too tightly.

But he wasn't dancing with Greta for _Greta's_ sake, and sure enough, only a minute later Matthew shook off the brown-haired woman he'd been dancing with and headed toward them. Sheena motioned discreetly at Matthew. "That didn't take long."

"No, I see that," Regal replied, watching the scene unfold. "I must admit I'm curious now if this Matthew character is really as colorful as the Chosen depicted."

"Me, too," Sheena said. "This should be interesting."

A second later Matthew reached them and stopped, patting Zelos sharply on the back and releasing a loud, fake laugh. "Why, _Chosen_! I didn't expect _you_ to be here tonight!" Sheena had to bite back a laugh as she saw Zelos's eyebrows rise as if to say, _'Yeah, right...oh, and by the way, you're a complete moron_.' Before he could verbally respond, though, Matthew turned his eyes to Greta as she and Zelos stopped dancing - and Sheena could have sworn she saw little pink hearts appear in them. "My, my! And who is _this_ lovely lady?"

Instantly, the disgust in Zelos's eyes transformed into fake glee. "Oh, this? Why, this is the hunny of my dreams, Greta!"

Matthew gasped and raised a hand to his heart. "Greta! Oh, what a lovely name that is! And oh, what lovely grace she possesses! Isn't she positively _divine_ , Chosen!"

"Of course she is!" Zelos released Greta and mimicked Matthew's hand-to-the-heart pose. "She is the most heavenly creature I've ever laid eyes on! Wouldn't you agree?"

"Why, I do not believe I have _ever_ seen a woman quite so beautiful!" Matthew replied. Sheena could scarcely believe it, but somehow he'd managed to make his words even more over-the-top than Zelos just had. "Just look at those sea-foam green eyes! That thick, wavy hair! This beautiful dress!" Suddenly, he gasped again. "But my dear, for as lovely as your dress may be, someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be covering her beauty with so many clothes! I mean, look at this figure! These curvy hips! These shapely legs! These heavenly, pillow-cushion-soft _breasts_!" He looked at Zelos. "Why, don't you agree, Chosen, that she is the most fine specimen of a female body you have ever seen?"

Greta giggled as she gave Zelos a hopeful look, brushing her hair back and jutting out her chest proudly. Instead of answering, though, Zelos's face transformed from fake glee to fake shock, his jaw dropping and his eyes widening as he took a step backward, away from her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hunny, is it true? Has he seen and felt all of you already?" Greta blinked at him several times, her face falling a little, clearly surprised he hadn't agreed with Matthew. "Please, hunny, tell me it isn't true! I mean, there's only one way Matthew here could know just how beautiful and pillow-cushion-soft your breasts are, and that was if he'd already had you naked in his bed! And here I thought _I_ was your one and only lover!" Greta took a step closer to him, clearly starting to panic, but before she could reply, Zelos took another step backward, closed his eyes, lifted his head, and covered his face with his hand, pretending to be devastated. "Be still my heart, broken into a thousand itty bitty pieces and trampled over by a herd of stampeding swine! I shall never, _never_ recover from this betrayal. Alas, all my hopes and dreams for the future have now been crushed, tossed like ashes to the wind. My entire life is meaningless!"

Greta grabbed his arm with building urgency. "But Chosen, I would never...!"

Zelos opened his eyes, shook her off of him, and then, when she made to grab him again, lifted his hand in her face to stop her, his face set. "No, hunny. Don't even try it. Nothing you say can erase this unbearable, debilitating pain in my heart." He lowered his hand and took another step backwards, fake sadness now plastered on his face. Sheena couldn't help thinking he might even be faking tears. "It's over, hunny. As much as it pains me, I am breaking up with you. I can never trust you again. This will never work out between us." He took a deep breath, ignoring Greta's horrified, wide-eyed, slack-jawed gape, then turned to Matthew and lifted his head as if putting up a strong front. "You, Matthew, have won her. You are clearly a much better man than I. She's all yours. I hope you two live happily ever after and have many beautiful, healthy children together. You belong with each other."

Matthew's only response was to nod in mock-understanding before turning to Greta and beaming at his 'victory,' even while Greta watched Zelos, horrified, as he turned and walked away, pressing his hand to his heart. "But...but... _Choooooooooosen_!" she cried, trying to follow him. Before she could take two steps, though, Matthew swooped in and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against him, taking Zelos's place dancing with her. She immediately glared at Matthew, screaming, "Don't touch me, you creep!" and trying to push him away, but he ignored her, and a moment later he was spinning her away, grinning like an idiot and undoubtedly whispering more 'sweet nothings' in her ear.

Zelos, meanwhile, quickly scoped out the crowd and, upon spotting Sheena and Regal, gave them an evil smirk and started heading toward them. "Wow," Regal commented, shaking his head. "He was serious about what he was going to do."

Sheena pulled her eyes from Zelos and looked back at Regal, grinning. "Yeah. He's serious about this, Regal. As unbelievable as it may be, it's true."

"So I see," he murmured, looking back at Zelos as he approached them. "I am impressed."

"Believe me, so am I," she said softly, likewise turning her attention to Zelos as he stopped beside them, still grinning broadly.

"Heh," Zelos chuckled, motioning with his thumb at the chaos he'd left in his wake. Greta, it now appeared, had taken to outright smacking Matthew's chest, but the man just continued grinning stupidly and refusing to let her go. "That was a little too easy."

Sheena arched an eyebrow, trying to come across as scolding, but try as she might, she just couldn't suppress her grin. "You were having a little too much fun with that, too."

He shrugged innocently, but his smirk ruined the effect. "Yeah...I was. At least we shouldn't have to worry about him anymore. If we're lucky, he'll get himself kicked out of here in the next half hour for 'inappropriately pestering' her. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened."

"So I take it you've done that before?" she asked as she and Regal stopped dancing and released each other.

"Heh. Once or twice." Zelos shrugged again. "It was pretty fun then, too. And really, those times proved to be good practice for the one time it really mattered."

A part of her actually felt bad for all the women he'd used for entertainment like that, but then Sheena remembered the variety of names Greta had called her the past two months and couldn't help chuckling. "Yeah, well, let's just hope Greta doesn't decide to get revenge on you for passing her off to a creep like that."

Zelos waved that off with his hand. "Eh, not to downplay the wrath of a hunny scorned, but I somehow doubt she's smart enough to figure out that's what I was doing. Besides, she deserved it for calling you 'trampy.'" Without warning, he cleared his throat and extended his arm to Sheena. "So anyway, now that that's taken care of...would you mind if I cut in and steal my date away from you, Regal?"

"Of course not, Chosen," Regal replied. He then turned to Sheena, smiled warmly, and bowed his head to her. "Thank you for the dance, Sheena."

"You're welcome." She returned his smile and likewise bowed her head to him, then gave him a pointed look. "Thank _you_ , Regal."

"Of course," he replied with a knowing smile. "My lips are sealed."

Zelos's eyes narrowed slightly, but Sheena just looped her arm through his, gave him another smile to tell him she'd explain later, and then turned back to Regal. "Thanks, Regal. I really appreciate it."

"The pleasure is all mine." With a low sigh, Regal looked around the crowd, his smile falling. "Unfortunately, as much as I prefer the company of dear friends like you two, I should continue mingling and becoming reacquainted with the upper class."

Zelos grinned. "Yeah, I think we're done mingling for now. Have fun with that, though."

"I will certainly try, although I doubt that will happen. These functions are still as stuffy as they were years ago." Regal turned back to them and smiled. "In any case, it has been good to see you both again. I hope our paths cross again soon."

"You too, Regal," Sheena said. And oh, how she hoped they would. Seeing Regal tonight just reminded her of how much she missed _all_ of their friends. Hopefully they could remedy that soon.

Regal bowed his head. "Good luck to you both."

Zelos returned his warm smile. "Thanks, Regal. Take care." Giving them one last smile, Regal turned and, soon enough, vanished into the crowd. And finally - _finally_ \- they were alone again. Sheena released a soft sigh as Zelos pulled his arm from hers and wrapped it around her waist again, then arched an eyebrow at her. "So now that there's no more threat our night will be ruined by obnoxious, self-proclaimed rivals...want to un-break up?"

Sheena rolled her eyes. "What do _you_ think?"

He grinned broadly. "Great! Me, too. So..." he pulled away and extended his arm to her again, giving her a curious, hopeful, and yet so typically, endearingly charming-Zelos bow that, for a moment, Sheena was afraid she would swoon, "...would you care to dance?"

Her heart skipped a beat and an excited thrill raced through her, leaving her suddenly feeling as if this was his very first time asking her out. She had always acknowledged that he was a charming, dashing, handsome man, even if she'd never let herself succumb to those charms before that night three months ago, and now...now she understood why women were always so excited when he looked them in the eye like this, with that sexy, confident, carefree smile, and asked them to dance. It was embarrassing to find herself feeling like a schoolgirl who'd just been swept off her feet by the school jock, and yet what reason did she have to be embarrassed? He was her boyfriend, and she was here with him at a fancy party, and she loved him, and she knew he loved her. What could be better than that?

With a shy smile and nod, Sheena looped her arm through his, and he led her to a quiet spot along the wall opposite where they'd last seen Matthew and Greta before finally stopping and lifting his hands into position for the dance. Taking a deep breath, she placed her right hand in his left, her left hand on his shoulder, and then melted against him as his other hand went to the small of her back, drawing her to him, far closer and tighter than he had with Greta...far closer and tighter than she'd _ever_ danced with a man before. And for a moment, Sheena just enjoyed the warmth, the physical nearness, and the slow, relaxing movement, following his lead. She blushed at the close attention he was paying her, watching her with a soft, awestruck smile on his face, but there was nothing inappropriate about the way he was touching her, and so she returned his smile, letting herself be swept away by his warmth, by his soothing scent, and by the intimacy of the moment.

After a minute, Zelos leaned down and lightly rested his cheek against hers. "Thanks for letting me do that before. Y'know, getting him off my back like that."

Sheena smiled, leaning her head further into the crook of his neck. "Like I said, Zelos, I trust you. You've earned it."

"You have no idea how much it amazes me to hear you say that," he murmured against her ear, his warm breath sending a shiver down her spine.

She briefly pulled back and arched an eyebrow at him. "Well, it's true, so don't go thinking I'm just saying that."

"I know," he said, chuckling lightly as she rested her head against his again. "Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, sorry 'bout leaving you to explain everything to Regal. It never even occurred to me that he'd be here tonight. If I'd thought of it sooner..."

"Don't worry about it," she said, shaking her head. "He was very understanding. If anyone had to find out about us right now, I'm glad it was him."

Zelos nodded faintly, drawing her even closer to him, his lips trailing over the shell of her ear. "Yeah, me too. At least he's the least likely to write us both off as having lost our minds."

Oh, Jizou, she loved this, being held by him like this and feeling his breath against her ear as he whispered words meant only for her to hear, not to mention the scent of his cologne, the warmth he was exuding, and the love and awe his hold on her was conveying. He was a very physical man, and while physicality like this used to make her uncomfortable, now she was growing to crave it. In fact, part of her couldn't help thinking if she could dance with him like this forever, she would never tire of it.

"Well, him and Colette," she said, more as an afterthought than anything else considering the trouble she was having following his words, mesmerized as she was by the sensations.

"Mm...yeah, you're right." _How is this man still able to think and talk?_ she absently wondered. _All I want to do right now is hold him and be held by him in return_. "Colette would be fine with it, too. But then, she's happy for _everyone_ , so no surprise there."

Okay, fine, so Mr. Talks-A-Lot wasn't completely ready to get lost in the dance yet. And really, he should know this, too. She pulled back so she could see his face. "Oh, and so you know, I asked him not to mention that we're dating if he happens to run into our friends, and he promised he wouldn't."

Zelos nodded thoughtfully. "Hence the _'my lips are sealed'_ thing earlier." Seeing her return his nod, he grinned and drew her head back down against him. "Thanks. One of these days we'll have to figure out how much we want them to know, just in case we unexpectedly run into anyone else."

"Yeah, we will," Sheena murmured. "But let's worry about that later, okay? Right now I'm rather busy enjoying this three-months' overdue dance with you." She quickly lifted her head and arched an eyebrow, anticipating his response. "And don't try to tell me I don't owe you anything, because I already know that. It's just..." _Damn, the blush is back_. She smiled shyly. Saying things like this to him still felt _wrong_ , and especially trusting him not to take what she said and get obnoxious about it, but if she wanted him to be truthful with her about his feelings, then she really should be truthful with him about hers. "Well, by the time you'd left that night, I was wishing I _could_ have gotten a dance like this with you."

"Mm." Zelos chuckled softly as he drew her back to him. "Then in that case, maybe I should charge three months' worth of interest."

She snorted but kept her voice low as she melted further into him. "You get me the rest of the night. What more do you want?"

She could feel him grin against her neck. "Since I'm making a point of acting like a gentleman tonight, I probably shouldn't answer that."

Sheena returned his grin. "Good choice. I'd really hate to ruin the moment by having to smack some sense into you."

"Yeah, me too," he murmured.

And then, finally, Zelos, too, succumbed to the same spell the dance was weaving over her, and they sank into silence, just enjoying the sensations and the intimate proximity as the music played on. Any other topics of discussion could wait until later, either during dinner or after they'd left. Right now, all that mattered was the slow song the orchestra was playing and the lovely, peaceful moment they were spending together.

0~*~0


	3. The Angel

**Part 3: The Angel**

The rest of the party passed more quickly than Sheena would have liked - a fact that surprised her when she finally realized how late it was getting. After a few slow songs, the tempo of the music picked up, and Zelos, upon discovering how limited her knowledge of ballroom dance was, took it upon himself to teach her a few new dances before dinner. He was, unsurprisingly, a natural at it, very graceful after the years of practice he'd had - the complete opposite of her, who could barely eke out a simple waltz before he'd patiently guided her through it. Once she felt comfortable with that one, he briefly showed her a few other less common dances, like the minuet, and the courante, and then some others with some fancy names that Sheena had quickly forgotten. They didn't use most of those dances the rest of the night, but it did whet her appetite to pick up some more dance steps sometime. Besides, she figured, if their relationship continued long enough, maybe she could one day use them again. And really, learning to move her body in new, different ways was a good thing for a ninja. In fact, one day it might even prove useful, depending on the poor sucker she was trying to seduce information out of.

While dancing wasn't her forte, thanks to her klutzy streak that, thankfully, only popped up once or twice during the night, it actually turned out to be fun, thanks to Zelos, who _made_ it fun. Sure, the dances themselves were more formal than even Zelos liked, but it was still fun doing something different with him. She improved her skills simply because he was patient when she made a mistake, just encouraging her to take a breath and try again. Every now and then a hunny would come over, interrupt them, and whine that he was spending too much time with Sheena when he _should_ be _'spreading the love'_ to all the other women waiting to dance with him, but he always just brushed them off and told him his date had dibs on him tonight, and _'unless she feels like sharing, I'm not leaving her side.'_

He always managed to divert his hunnies' attention smoothly, but it was far more awkward when men cut in and asked to dance with _her_. Zelos would always arch an eyebrow and then stand back and let her tell them, as politely as she could muster, that she wasn't interested, and depending on how persistent the man was, it felt like she was tripping over her own two feet turning them down. Zelos never seemed surprised by those interruptions - he actually seemed rather smug, Sheena had noted, rolling her eyes - but _she_ was certainly surprised so many men showed such interest in her. Every time she expressed that surprise, though, Zelos just laughed and assured her she was generating that kind of attention because she looked incredible - and that, well, plenty of guys besides Matthew were jealous of the female attention he garnered and believed if _he_ was dating someone, then that woman must be worth pursuing. At least Matthew didn't bother them again - and, as Zelos predicted, after half hour, they couldn't even spot him in the crowd anymore.

As awkward as that was, though, it paled in comparison to dinner. The food itself was fancy and delicious, but as Zelos had feared, the trade-off for skipping his dance with Hilda was that they had to sit with the king and the princess for dinner. And having to eat with _them_...talk about intimidating. Thankfully, Zelos gave her a refresher course beforehand about the manners expected of her (use this fork for salad and this one for the main meal, sit up straight, never finish everything on your plate before the king does, etc.), but having to abide by so many rules took most of the enjoyment out of the meal. The conversation itself was just as stilted. Sheena had never before had to watch every word she said so carefully, and other than whispering to Zelos (who, thankfully, insisted she sit beside him), she basically kept her mouth shut the entire time, because the last thing she wanted to do was accidentally offend anyone. Again, she was grateful that Zelos handled the conversation himself.

But the worst part of the meal came when Hilda had realized who Zelos's date was and why he'd missed his dance with her, and it was at that point that Hilda had begun giving Sheena jealous glares similar to the ones Zelos's hunnies always gave her. Fortunately, those glares were far more restrained than his hunnies' were, and every time Sheena caught her doing it, usually after Zelos had whispered something in her ear that made her laugh, Hilda would blush in embarrassment and look away, probably because she _was_ the princess and knew glaring was unbecoming of someone of her standing. Sheena really didn't want to make enemies with the royal family just because of who she was dating, and really, she was starting to understand why women were so territorial about Zelos anyway, so she refused to hold it against Hilda. As embarrassing as it was to realize, if Zelos wasn't so completely with her tonight, Sheena suspected she'd be acting the same way.

The dinner and its accompanying formality, fakeness, waste, and gaudiness was obnoxious while it lasted, but every now and then Zelos would give her a soft smile or would touch her hand or her knee in a way that said, _'Thank you for putting up with this crap for me,'_ and somehow those little gestures reminded her why she was there and got her through it. In return, she would smile and squeeze his hand, silently telling him she wasn't going anywhere, no matter how stupid it all was. Yes, she might abhor parts of this party, but it was only one night and she loved him. He was worth it.

And then dinner was finally over, and they'd gone back to the part Sheena really _was_ enjoying: dancing. For the next half hour, Zelos entertained her with amusing stories about the noblemen around them, explaining who they were, how they'd made their fortunes, and all the ridiculous ways he'd seen them trying to make themselves look good. He never really put them down (well, okay, he did for one or two of the _really_ idiotic people, but she wasn't counting them), but it passed the time, entertained her, helped her get a better picture of his 'world' and Meltokio's culture, and gave her pointers on how to handle certain people, what to say to them, and what they _really_ meant when they said something.

By the time he'd finished, Sheena had felt less like an angel out of heaven and more like someone who was capable of seeing things around her for what they really were, not just what they seemed to be. It impressed her how much Zelos had figured out about his fellow noblemen; in fact, it was probably events like this one where he'd learned to not only be so perceptive of people's nuances, but how to manipulate others' reactions to him and hide behind the mask. While she wished he wasn't so good at that, the past couldn't be changed, and Sheena was just glad he'd shared his knowledge and helped her become more comfortable here, especially if he really did want her to accompany him to more of these functions.

Eventually, their conversation faded into silence and time melted into a blur as they continued dancing, keeping to themselves along a far side of the room, just enjoying the closeness, warmth, and love of holding each other. She felt so calm and relaxed in his arms, being able to drown in his scent, feeling his cheek pressed against hers and his breath on her neck, and moving with him to the soft music, enjoying the night. After awhile, no one interrupted them anymore, although every now and then she still heard someone comment about how strange it was to see Zelos staying with one woman all night, or about how beautiful she was, or about how she didn't impress them, but Sheena just didn't care. Zelos loved her, and she loved him, and that was all that truly mattered.

In a way, it was funny how Zelos had now gotten everything he'd 'charged' her at the last party in exchange for his secrets: first the kiss, then the date, and finally the dance. Her debt to him was now paid in full. They had both won this game. Sure, the future was still a sobering, alarming unknown, but the present...who would have known that out of the 'bargain' they'd struck that night, they would both get everything they wanted: love, trust, understanding, acceptance, and respect? And it had all started with a chance meeting on a balcony that ended up being so much more. That night had proven to her that not everything in life turned out as was expected, and that was why she'd kept their relationship going so long, even when logic told her it was hopeless: because in the blink of an eye, everything could still change, for better or worse. _Whatever will be, will be._

In time, thanks to the music and Zelos's warmth, Sheena had lulled off into a hypnotic daze, all sense of time lost, when suddenly his lips lifted to her ear. "What do you say we get outta here, sweetheart? I think we've more than put in our appearance by now."

Slowly lifting her head, rousing herself from her daze, Sheena looked up at him, his soft smile making her heart skip a beat, and nodded. "Sure."

They said goodbye to the princess, thanking her and the king for the lovely party and, again, wishing wished her a happy birthday - but Hilda, Sheena noted, really didn't seem happy. It wasn't something she'd ever expected to see - a princess jealous of _her_ \- and yet she couldn't deny the envious look in Hilda's eyes at seeing Zelos holding her hand. It felt good, in a way, but it was also unsettling, and Sheena was happy when they finally finished. They then bid farewell to a few other guests, including Regal, who smile and shook his head as if amazed that Zelos really hadn't wandered off on her, and then they were free, stepping outside onto the streets of Meltokio.

The night air was brisk, much colder than when they'd arrived - she should have known since fall in Meltokio meant warm days and cold nights - and the initial shock against her bare skin roused her from the lingering daze she'd slipped into inside the warm hall. She quickly wrapped her stole around herself, shivering.

"Whoops," Zelos suddenly said, then he immediately began unbuttoning his suit coat. "Can't have you freezing out here. Here you go, love."

A second later he draped his coat over her shoulders, and, blushing at the gentlemanly action, Sheena gratefully accepted it, savoring the warmth it still held from his body. "Thanks," she whispered, pulling it tighter around her.

"You're welcome." Freed of his coat, Zelos took the opportunity to loosen his tie and undo the top button of his dress shirt, then he pulled off his gloves, stuffed them in his pockets, and rolled up his sleeves. Sheena watched him work, biting her lip as her heart tightened at his transformation from proper to casual. As much as she loved seeing him dressed up, she loved the laid-back, carefree Zelos just as much. Once he was comfortable, he turned to her, grinning as he looked her over, and then motioned at the pins and clips holding up her hair. "May I...?"

Agh, _again_ with her hair? What _was_ his obsession with seeing her hair down, seriously? But eh, she was feeling generous, so she supposed she could humor him this time. "Fine, fine," she said with a low sigh. "Go ahead."

His eyes lit up, and he reached for her hair, gently pulling out pin after pin, more of her dark hair falling freely around her face with each one he removed. Once finished, he stood back and looked her over, his eyes softening. "Much better."

Sheena blushed and gave him the best glare she could manage while being the recipient of such a soft, adoring look. A moment later, though, an impulse hit her. "Yeah, well, just for that..." With a smirk, she reached around him and untied the violet ribbon holding his braid together, then nodded her approval once she'd finished. "There. Now we're even."

Zelos chuckled and shook his hair free from its braid, then he slid an arm behind her, leading her down the steps and away from the reception hall. "I think I can handle that." Upon reaching the street, they turned east, toward his mansion. He then glanced at her again, a wicked smirk appearing on his lips. "Of course, now you're even sexier than before." Uh oh, his tone was shifting from chivalrous to lecherous, and that could only mean one thing: the pervert was back. She arched a wary eyebrow as he lifted a hand as if to wave down an argument she hadn't even been considering making. "Now, now, I know what you're gonna say: _'But oh Great and Mighty Zelos, there's_ _ **no way**_ _that could be true because I was already_ _ **way**_ _beyond a ten on the sexiness scale before!_ ' Right? It _was_ true, though!" He took a step away and motioned at her, smirking broadly. "I mean, this dress and this incredible, voluptuous figure are bad enough, but now to add this _hair_ to the mix...do you have anyidea how hard it's gonna be for me not to molest you _now_?"

Sheena folded her arms to her chest and narrowed her eyes as he began whistling innocently, his hand going to her back and trailing downward, so slowly that it was obvious he wasn't serious about it. If he was, after all, he would've just gone straight for his target destination rather than giving her a chance to react. Despite the fact that his hand was currently in a place that, three months ago, would have resulted in a black and blue shiner on his cheek, Sheena couldn't help snorting at his antics. Honestly, she hadn't seen him like this in a long time. And much to her own amazement, not only wasn't she upset about it - the idiot was just feeling playful, and it was hard to be mad at him when he was sincerely happy - but, for once, she wanted to play along with him.

She abruptly stopped walking and turned to him, arching a half-threatening eyebrow. "The _Great and Mighty Zelos_ better quit treating me like a hunny and get his hand off my ass before I kick him to the ground and stomp on his pretty fingers." She poked his chest. "I may be stuck wearing this fancy dress, buddy, but I can still beat you to a bloody pulp."

His hand immediately stopped, as she'd known it would, but the playfulness and eagerness in his eyes flared further as he waggled his eyebrows tauntingly. "Ooh, feisty. I like that. _Can_ you kick my ass? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a peach on top?"

She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. "You just want to take all the fun out of it for me, don't you?"

His smirk was downright _wicked_ now. "It might take all the fun out of it for _you_ , but not for _me_. _I'll_ be enjoying every second of it."

Sheena rolled her eyes and sighed, but her grin was irresistible. "Yeah, I was wondering where _you_ were tonight. You'd been behaving so well, too. I should've known it wouldn't last."

He lifted his hands innocently and gave her a wide-eyed, mock-affronted look. "Hey, just because I know _how_ to be a gentleman doesn't mean I _like_ being a gentleman! And now that I'm not choking in that silly suit and tie anymore, the pervert in me just can't help coming out to play. He's been repressed _way_ too long tonight."

" _Aha_!" she said, pointing at him triumphantly. "So _that's_ your secret! Strangle you with formality and you'll actually behave! I'll have to remember that for the future." Her grin broadened and she tilted her head thoughtfully as he snorted, his eyes twinkling in the soft overhead lamplight. "Formal clothes, eh? Who would've thought _that_ was the answer? Hm...I think I can handle seeing you decked out like this more often." She motioned at him, unable to resist ogling his lean, muscular, and, yes, _sexy_ body. "I mean, it really does look really good on you."

Zelos sighed and snapped his fingers as if to say, _'Aw, shucks!'_ "Damn. And here I'd hoped you wouldn't figure that out." Without warning, he beamed her another wicked grin. "Heh. Then I guess I'll just have to fix the problem, won't I? Y'know, by giving in to my primitive, caveman urges and tearing any fancy clothes you try to put me in to shreds. And if you try to stop me...well, let's just say I can't guarantee the safety of _your_ clothes, either."

Sheena tried to bite back her laughter again, not wanting to encourage him, but her resolve lasted all of a second before she succumbed anyway. _Oh, great Jizou_. This man was so utterly ridiculous at times, with the most bizarre, perverted ideas imaginable, that she still occasionally had trouble believing she was dating him. It was a wonder Regal had believed her earlier certainty about him. If she wasn't completely convinced Zelos was just acting stupid to make her laugh and smile, she'd be smacking the hell out of him.

Instead, she shook her head and muttered, "You are such an idiot."

Chuckling, Zelos placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Yeah, I know," he whispered. "I try. And you love me anyway."

Sheena sighed in mock reluctance and exasperation, then lifted her face toward his, gave him a soft smile, and whispered, "Yeah, I do."

The playfulness in his eyes instantly softened into such sincere love and admiration that it sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "And I love you, too."

Zelos leaned down and gave her a quick but tender kiss that she happily returned, then he pulled back, lifted a hand to her face, and gently brushed her dark hair back, just observing her. And for a moment, Sheena let him, enjoying the comfortable banter and happiness of simply being with him. It was then that she noticed it, though: he was standing directly in front of a flickering lamppost, the light from which was catching on his red hair, setting it alight and making it glow as brightly and as beautifully as a raging fire.

 _...It looked exactly like his wings._

The recollection sent a vivid image through her mind of the first - and only - time she'd seen them, when he had flown down that hole in the Tower of Salvation and rescued her as she'd fallen. It was a mental picture she'd never forgotten, but she'd never asked him about them, mainly because he'd never mentioned them or shown them to her again since. Just because he didn't talk about them, though, didn't mean he didn't have them...nor did it mean he didn't have the other aspects that came with them. She just didn't know how manyof those aspects _had_ come with them.

Without warning, the memory slipped away as Zelos wrapped his arm around her again, disturbing her mental image of his somber face as he'd set her down on solid ground with those bright, gorgeous wings behind him, and her smile fell as she leaned into him and they resumed walking. Now that she'd remembered that moment, though, the thought nagged at her. Should she ask about them? The fact that he'd never mentioned them while they'd been dating, nor even before their journey ended, seemed to indicate he didn't like talking about them, but they existed, and the very thought that he possessed them simultaneously fascinated and horrified her. What did they mean for him? When had he gotten them? What did they feel like? She wanted to know. The last time she'd had the opportunity to ask him those kinds of questions, that night out on the balcony three months ago, she'd chosen not to because she hadn't felt comfortable asking him something like that, but now...now she did.

Maybe it was worth a shot. If he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't push, but she had no way of knowing that unless she took a chance and asked him. Right?

Taking a deep breath, Sheena lifted her eyes to his. "Zelos, can I ask you something?"

His face fell and his body tensed as he looked down at her, sighing softly. "I should've known you wouldn't let that thing about my grandmother go." His eyebrows rose when she only blinked at him in response. "That _is_ what you wanted to ask about, right?"

...Oh. Right. Yeah, she'd kinda forgotten about that. "Well, yes...no, that's not...that isn't what I..." She swallowed and looked down, leaning into him and trying again. "Yeah, I still want to ask about that, too, but that wasn't what I meant this time."

"Oh." Zelos turned his head toward hers, brushing his lips over her forehead. "Then what is it? And seriously, sweetheart, since when you do check before you ask me something? You know you can ask me anything."

Her face grew warm, and she looked down, pulling his coat tighter around her. "Well, it's just...I'm not sure you really want to talk about this. You never have before, and I...I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to talk about it just because I'm curious."

When she lifted her head again, wanting to convince him she meant that, she found his eyes narrowed as he observed her. "Okay...? Sheena, whatever it is, just ask me. If I don't want to talk about something, I'll say so, and I certainly won't get _upset_ about it."

She bit her lip, still hesitating. Even with his assurance, it just felt awkward asking him this. But when his eyebrows rose further, telling her to go ahead, she took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Your...your angel powers. When did you get them?"

Instantly, his eyes widened and he let out a soft laugh. " _Wow_. And you say _I'm_ good at changing the subject."

Okay, she couldn't help herself. Whether it was because she wanted to put him at ease or because she'd been hanging around him too long, Sheena arched a teasing eyebrow. "You mean there was a subject before this?"

Zelos groaned, shook his head, and gave her a wry grin, tapping her arm with his finger. "Ha ha. Very funny, you little smart aleck."

She smirked. "I thought so."

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant, sweetheart."

Well, yeah, she did. "Heh. Sorry. I guess I learned the tactic from the best distracter I've ever met, eh?"

"And my horrible influence on you continues," he muttered, his lips curling upward into a smile.

"Hate to break this to you, but you have no one to blame for that but yourself," she quipped, poking his side and making him squirm as she hit a ticklish spot. Softening - and wanting to get back on the real subject - she lifted her head again. "It's just...for a minute there, the streetlight catching in your hair reminded me of your wings."

Zelos pulled back and watched her a moment, his face sinking, but then he looked away again as they continued walking. "That's right. You have seen those, haven't you?"

Sheena nodded, smiling awkwardly. "It's kinda hard to forget something like that."

"Yeah, I suppose it is," he murmured.

She quickly lifted her head again, needing him to know this. "B...but like I said, Zelos, don't feel like you have to answer the question."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "You really are curious, though, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," she said, lowering her head, trying to hide her blush. "But that doesn't mean you have to talk about something you really don't want to. I mean, you haven't volunteered anything about them before this, so I'm guessing this isn't a favorite subject of yours..."

A low sigh snuck out of him, but then he looked down at her, smiling faintly. "No, it's okay. Yeah, you're right, I don't usually talk about that stuff because...well, because it's something I've chosen not think about more than I absolutely have to. And so far it's been easy to get away with since not many people even realize I have them. I mean, if Lloyd and the others stopped to think about it, they'd probably figure it out since I _do_ have my Cruxis Crystal now, but since none of them have asked about it, I'm assuming they've never considered it - or, more likely, they just don't care. That's why I've had an easy time ignoring them so far."

Her brows furrowed as she met his eyes again, and her footsteps slowed to a stop as she turned toward him, needing to impress this on him. "Well, _I_ care. Especially after seeing what Colette went through to get _her_ angel powers."

Zelos's face softened into a smile, and he nodded faintly. "I know. And that's why even though I don't, as a general rule, think or talk about them, I'll make an exception for you this time." He motioned at the approaching entrance to his mansion. "C'mon, let's find somewhere to sit. Might as well be comfortable for this." Sheena nodded and let him take her hand, lacing his warm fingers through hers and leading her through the gate and into the garden behind his mansion, finally stopping at a metal bench with a fancy latticework design that was lit by a single, glimmering lamppost. They both took a seat, and when she shivered at the feel of the cool metal beneath her legs, seeping through the thin material of her dress, he wrapped his arm around her, drawing her body closer to the warmth of his. "You warm enough here or should we go inside?" he asked.

She shook her head. While yeah, it was cool, the night was too beautiful to retreat indoors yet. The lamplight was casting a soft, gentle glow around the garden, and above, the moon and hundreds of stars shone down on them, giving the night an ethereal quality. Going inside would mean losing the opportunity to enjoy this. "No, this is fine." She pulled back a little so she could see his face. "What about you? Are you too cold without your coat?"

"Nah, I'm good." He fell silent again, looking around the garden, and Sheena just waited, not wanting to push him. Finally, he nodded and released another low sigh. "Remember that night we stopped in Altamira after getting my Cruxis Crystal from Seles? Y'know, before we headed to the Tower of Salvation that first time?"

Right after they'd gotten his Cruxis Crystal? Sheena nodded as the memory resurfaced. By the time they'd left the abbey, it had already been late afternoon, and so instead of going straight to the Tower of Salvation, they'd headed to the nearest town to rest, which had been Altamira. "Yeah...?"

"Well, that's the night my 'angel transformation' happened."

She scanned her memories again, trying to remember what had happened that night...and in the blink of an eye, the details rushed back to her. Oh. ... _Oh_. That had been _that_ night. Shortly after reaching Altamira, Zelos had vanished into town, and no one had seen him again until noon of the next day. In fact, they'd lost so much time because of his little vanishing act that by the time he _had_ rejoined them, they'd decided to hold off on tackling the Tower of Salvation until the following day.

The worst part, though, was that when he'd finally showed up, he'd been sicker than a dog. He'd never volunteered an explanation for how he'd ended up like that, and at first they'd been sympathetic, but then someone - Sheena thought it might have even been _her_ \- had theorized that he, being the idiotic, irresponsible womanizer they'd believed him to be, had headed off with a hunny or three for a 'fun night' on the town and had gotten himself completely wasted, resulting in a severe hangover, and the others had agreed it was a likely conclusion, especially when Zelos hadn't attempted to counter it. At that point, all sympathy for him had vanished. They'd briefly discussed leaving him behind and heading on without him, because someone who was stupid enough to get himself plastered the night before such an important trip couldn't be counted on should they have to battle Yggdrasill, but then Colette had pointed out that they needed him and his Cruxis Crystal to get into the tower, and they'd reluctantly decided to drag him along anyway. So instead of going directly to the Tower of Salvation as planned, they'd stopped instead in Mizuho, which was closer to the tower, so he could sleep off the rest of his stupid hangover. By the next morning, he'd been back to normal.

But what Sheena remembered most from the incident was how _furious_ she'd been at him. How _dare_ he pull an idiotic stunt like thatwhen they'd been trying to save Colette's life? She'd beat him up until Raine and Regal had forced her to stop (because inflicting more pain on him when he was already suffering wouldn't get them into the tower any faster, they'd insisted), and after that she'd refused to talk to him for the rest of the day, and most of the day after that, too. It had been easy to do, she remembered, because he'd avoided contact with anyone - because he'd felt so awful, she'd assumed - and when he couldn't avoid them, he'd said no more than two words at a time before heading off to be by himself again. After that, it had taken nearly three days before he'd acted normally toward her again, going back to teasing and irritating her, and it had taken even longer before Sheena had spoken any words to him that didn't include the nastiest insults she could find.

So...wait. Was he saying _that_ was when he'd undergone his angel transformation?

Sheena swallowed hard as a knot of guilt began building in her gut. If that was what he'd really been going through at the time, then she had...she had... "O...oh. I...I thought..."

Zelos quickly nodded, pressing his lips to her temple and rubbing her arm soothingly. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I know. I deserved every name you called me that day. And while no, I didn't really get plastered that night and wasn't really hung over that next morning, it was the perfect cover for what was really happening to me, so I didn't deny it. I used my reputation as a playboy to cover over a lot of things, especially anything having to do with my connection with Cruxis."

 _...Oh, great Jizou_. He'd clearly been feeling horrible at the time, and then she'd jumped to the conclusion she had about _why_ he'd been feeling horrible, and then she'd yelled at him and called him nasty names and smacked him and made him feel even worse, not only physically but probably about himself, too. She wasn't sure her heart could sink any lower. "I...I'm really sorry about that, Zelos, that I assumed the worst of you like I did. I had no idea what you were really going through, and I had no right to..."

"Hey, don't you _dare_ apologize for that, Sheena," he interrupted, his voice frighteningly serious - as was his face when he pulled back and looked at her. "What happened to me that day was my choice. _Mine_." He tilted his head, reconsidering. "Well, no, not really, but when Yggdrasill comes to you and says you _have_ to become an angel, _now_ , because now that you have your Cruxis Crystal, it'll happen eventually anyway and he needs you to be fully functioning so you can kick his opponent's asses when the time came - oh, and by the way if you don't, then he has no further use for you - you don't say 'no' and live to tell about it. And since I knew it would start happening anyway once I equipped my Cruxis Crystal to get us into the tower, even if I had the proper key crest, I figured the hell with it, I might as well get the damn thing over with - albeit _not_ letting him use that special, ancient combat ability to alter my metabolism and expand my lifespan like he wanted to, because one lifetime is more than enough for me, thanks. Although if I'd known how awful it would be, I might have reconsidered letting him do _anything_ to me. I mean, I knew the process would be bad after hearing about Colette's experiences, and I knew I really didn't want to do it, but even _I_ didn't expect it to be as bad as it was."

Her eyes widened and she swallowed again, her heart sinking further. Oh. Zelos really had been in a bad position caught between three groups like that, hadn't he? He'd been trapped under everyone's thumbs and, despite what she'd thought, he'd never had any real say of his own, trying to keep everyone happy and believing he was loyal to them - at least not until the final decision, which he thankfully _did_ make for himself. Oh, was she glad he'd made the right one. And...oh, Jizou. Had the transformation process really been _that_ bad? It was sure starting to sound like it.

Sheena shook her head faintly. One question at a time, and right now this was the most glaring inconsistency for her. "I'm confused, though. Colette's transformation took weeks, and yet you were fine by the time we reached the Tower of Salvation. How was yours so different?"

"Heh," he uttered, but it contained no trace of humor, only grim wryness. "Let's just say I got the ultra-fast, ultra-painful version. From everything I heard, her transformation was a cakewalk compared to the one I got. And honestly, I'm glad it _was_ easier for her, because I wouldn't wish something that awful on anyone, let alone her." Sheena's eyes widened in horror, but before she could question that further, he sighed and went on. "Yggdrasill didn't want to give away his plans and how I was his 'ace in the hole,' and he didn't want to waste time with me out of commission for long because he was getting antsy to knock you guys out of the picture, so that's why he forced the transformation on me - so no one would know I had my angel powers and you'd underestimate me in battle if it came to that. So instead of letting the process progress naturally like Cruxis typically does for Chosens, losing one sense at a time and gaining one angel power in return, he majorly sped it up for me. Something that normally takes weeks took a little over a day for me."

Sheena blinked, again searching her memories from that day, but because of how pissed she'd been and how much she'd avoided him, the details were fuzzy. Colette had lost her appetite, her sense of touch, her ability to sleep, and her voice before losing her heart. While she didn't remember Zelos eating, sleeping, or reacting to touch that day, she _did_ remember him talking. And after that...well, he'd immediately gone back to being his old, annoying self, to the point of Presea pointing out he was acting more obnoxious than usual and asking if something was wrong. Now his over-the-top behavior then made more sense.

"I just don't remember seeing any of Colette's symptoms in you," she said. "You didn't say much that day, but I _do_ remember you telling us to leave you alone."

Zelos shook his head. "Fortunately, the worst of those symptoms, like my inability to speak or feel anything, passed when Yggdrasill gave me the key crest that stopped the process before I completely lost my soul, right before I met up with you guys again, so no, you wouldn't have noticed anything. Don't get me wrong, I still felt horrible the rest of the day, and I was extremely tired and weak because of it, but...well, to be honest, I deserved it for getting myself stuck in that position in the first place." He shrugged. "Besides, the last twenty hours or so weren't nearly as bad as those first ten. That's why I could at least keep going to Mizuho. And after that, I felt fine. Other than having to deal with my newly enhanced senses and having to hide the fact that I had them from you guys."

"...Oh." Her stomach felt like it was being twisted into knots. Maybe she shouldn't have asked about this; hearing about his experiences hurt far worse than she'd expected. But then, chances were it would have just continued bugging her until she'd gotten answers. At least Zelos was being honest about it, not trying to minimize his suffering or change the subject. She probably shouldn't be asking this, either, but her curiosity had to know. "So it hurt?"

"Like I'd been tossed to a starving hellhound," he whispered. "I've never felt that much pain before, and I hope I never do again. It felt like...like my body was being torn apart from the inside out. All I could do was curl up in a ball on the floor and wait it out. I doubt I'd wish anything like that even on my worst enemy."

Sheena swallowed hard, tears forming in her eyes at the softness of his voice and the mental image his description evoked. The thought of a man she now loved so much having to go through that, and then to... _oh, Jizou_. Colette had certainly experienced her own hellish transformation, losing all aspects of her humanity before finally regaining it again, but at least she'd had friends who'd stood beside her and helped her through it. But Zelos...Zelos had had no one. And then when he'd met up with them again only to have everyone furious at him over something that hadn't even been true, all because of a mistaken assumption on _her_ part...

"I...I had no idea, Zelos," she whispered, her head sinking downward.

"Which is exactly how I wanted it to be, Sheena."

She looked up at him again, surprised by the forcefulness of his voice, and even more surprised by the certainty she saw in his eyes. She quickly looked down at her hands and wrung them together, unable to hold his intense gaze, and nodded faintly. "I know. But still...I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wish I'd known. You shouldn't have had to suffer through that alone. Even if I couldn't have changed anything, I...I wish I could've been there for you."

Zelos shook his head, although the edge to his voice did soften a little. "I know you do, love, but I couldn't get you involved in that sordid affair. I _refused_ to get you involved. And to be honest, I'm glad you _didn't_ see me like that, because even though you could barely stand me at that point, I know seeing me like that still would've hurt you, because that's just who you are. The bottom line, though, is that I couldn't let you, not without putting your life at risk. You know that."

Yeah, she understood that. But that still didn't make the fact that it had been happening and _she'd done nothing to help him_ any easier for her to bear. "I know," she said, her voice lowering further. "I know why you couldn't let me in back then. But that doesn't stop me from wishing everything had been different so I _could_ have helped you."

He nuzzled his nose against her neck and pulled her closer as she shivered at his warm breath against her skin. "I'm still alive, sweetheart. I survived it. It's over, it's done, and nothing we say or do now can change what happened, so don't worry about it, okay? Things are a lot different now than they were back then."

Sheena sighed. He was right. Things _were_ different - _very_ different. She knew so much more now, not only about what he'd been doing back then, but about who he really was. And she wouldn't trade what had happened or what she'd learned about him, even though it hurt, if it meant sacrificing what they now had. "Yeah," she whispered, letting her head rest against his. "They're better now."

Zelos nodded, trailing his lips up her neck, up her jaw, up her ear, until he finally pressed a tender kiss to her temple. "Definitely."

Oh, did that feel good. Nope, she _definitely_ wouldn't trade this, his tender touch, his gentle kiss, any of it, for anything. Where they were was exactly where she wanted to be. After a moment of enjoying the enticing feel of his lips on her skin, though, she turned her head toward him. He may have now answered a few of her questions, but she still wanted to know more. "So what angel senses do you have?" she asked, trying to ignore the feeling of his lips traveling back down to her ear. "Are they the same as Colette's?"

His lips left her ear, leaving her already missing them, and he nodded. "I think so. They seem to carve us into a pretty standard mold. For starters, I can see extremely well. Like, miles away, and in sharp detail, too. My hearing is a little too sensitive, too. If I pay attention, I can hear whispers from across a room, which has led me to hear a lot of things I wish I didn't. Sometimes loud noises are downright painful, but I've learned to block the worst of it. I can feel touch again, although extreme temperatures don't bother me like they used to, and I resumed eating and sleeping pretty quickly, although with a caveat: while I get tired and hungry, I don't _need_ food or sleep to keep going, or at least not as much of it. From what I can tell, I can go pretty long without both without suffering ill effects, although I haven't actually tested that theory, other than staying awake a few nights while I was trying to figure out who to side with. I'm stronger now, too. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I can use that fancy schmancy Judgment spell that Kratos and Colette can...not that I've tried it yet." He released a soft, humorless laugh. "I could do quite happily without any further reminders of the fact that this whole thing ever happened."

Oh, Zelos. It was becoming painfully obvious that he wasn't happy it had happened - and knowing him, he probably avoided thinking about it as much as he could. No wonder he'd never mentioned it before. Sheena was just grateful he'd told her what he had. But one 'angel advantage' was conspicuously missing from his list. "And, of course, there's the fact you have wings and can fly now," she prompted.

He looked away from her. "Yeah. And then there's that."

Sheena watched him again, waiting to see if he would volunteer more information about that, but when he just continued looking out at his garden, she bit her lip. Should she ask him or not? He clearly wasn't thrilled with the subject, but then, he hadn't been thrilled about the rest of this, either, and he'd still been forthcoming. And this was likely the best opportunity she'd ever have to ask. Oh, she might as well. If his answer was no, well, that was that, but she didn't think it would upsethim. At least, she hoped not.

Her gaze drifted downward and her fingers lifted to his chest, playing over the buttons of his shirt. "Can I see them?" Again, Zelos didn't respond, and after a moment she looked up at him, blushing as she found his brows furrowed as he watched her, uncertainty marring his handsome features. "It's just...I have this mental picture of them, but I didn't get a good look at them since, y'know, I'd been pissed at you at the time for betraying us and you didn't stick around long after saving me, and...well, I'm curious if my memory is accurate."

Still he hesitated, his expression intense as he considered that, but finally, just when she was about to rescind her request, he nodded. "If you were anyone else, I'd say no, but since you've already seen them and this will probably keep bugging you until your curiosity is appeased...okay." He removed his arm from around her, making her silently mourn the loss of his warmth, and pointed sharply at her, his eyebrows rising expectantly. "But you are the _only_ person I would ever make this exception for."

 _Oh, good. He's not mad...and this, too, is another exception he's willing to make._ It made her feel special to know he was willing to do so many things for her that he wouldn't do for anyone else. She smiled faintly and followed his lead as he rose to his feet. "Thank you, Zelos. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about them unless I absolutely have to."

Zelos nodded and returned her smile, his face softening. "I know you won't, love."

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, standing silently for a moment, but then, in the blink of an eye, there they were, spreading out behind him in all their brilliant, breathtaking beauty. They weren't _quite_ how she remembered, but they were still spectacular. Sheena had to bite her lip to resist gasping at the sight before her.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, but his face was still tense - maybe even a little nervous, she thought. He clearly wasn't comfortable with this, and while Sheena wasn't sure she understood why yet, she did want to put him a little more at ease. Stepping forward so she was standing in front of him, she offered him another smile, sincerely grateful and touched that he was showing her this again, something very few people had ever seen. "Well, personally, I think they're magnificent," she said. "Glorious, even."

His eyes widened. She'd expected him to boast about how 'cool' his wings were, and yet this definitely wasn't boasting. In fact, he truly seemed surprised by that. "Really?"

"Mm hmm," she murmured, looking him over again, taking it all in. "They're beautiful, Zelos. They look really good on you."

Zelos watched her closely, as if expecting her to take that back, but she just looked back at him unwaveringly, because why _would_ she take back something that was true? These wings really were beautiful, and they really did look good on him. After a moment, he let out a soft yet surprisingly shaky laugh. "Heh. Well, I guess I should just be glad _someone_ can find something beautiful in them."

And _again_ with his atypical lack of conviction. Seriously, she knew he wasn't thrilled with them, but this was more than that; this was a major sore spot for him. Giving him a warm smile, Sheena placed her hands on his chest and lifted herself up on her toes, giving him a quick, reassuring kiss before pulling back to look him over again. And then it hit her, what was 'off' about them. She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. "Although maybe my memory is just fuzzy, but I don't remember them being this _big_ before. I remember them being half this size."

"I dunno," he said, his body still stiff. "I didn't do anything to them. Maybe they just keep growing over time."

"Huh. Colette's never changed after she got hers."

He shrugged. "Or maybe because of the rush job Yggdrasill did on me, it took a few months for them to grow to their full size. I really don't know. And to be honest, I don't even care." He fell silent as Sheena took another step backward so she could see his entire wingspan. Wow, talk about huge...and amazing. For a moment, Zelos just eyed her and her reactions carefully, but then he suddenly cleared his throat. "So what color are they?"

Her eyes snapped back to his. "You...you don't know?" He shook his head, his face subdued, and her lips parted. Was he _serious_? "You've never looked?"

"I never wanted to," he replied softly. "As far as I'm concerned, they're a necessary evil." He paused a moment, but then his eyes lowered, his voice growing even softer. "I've never been able to convince myself to look at them in a mirror and see myself like that."

Great Jizou, he was serious. Sheena blinked several times, unsure whether to be amazed or worried, then took a step back toward him. This had suddenly jumped from his wings being a 'sore spot' for him to being _hatred_ and _fear_ of them. Did he really see nothing beautiful about them? Did he only see their ugly origin? "Y'know, Zelos, ignoring them and pretending they don't exist won't make them go away."

He gave her a half-hearted grin. "Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying, can you?"

She swallowed hard, her heart sinking further. Wow. She'd had no idea he felt that way. Unsure how to respond to that, she instead said, "Well, to answer your question, they're a beautiful, brilliant golden-orange color." Her voice lowered as she met his eyes again, trailing her fingers over his chest. And suddenly, she needed to clarify this, because she couldn't wrap her head around it. "You really...you really hate them that much?"

In the blink of an eye, his grin vanished and he released a low, shaky sigh. "I hate everything they represent, and especially that Cruxis permanently branded me like this, as one of their own. Even if I get rid of the title, I'll never get rid of these damn things. They'll always link me back to them and serve as a reminder of all the stupid, desperate, selfish choices I made." He grinned wryly and shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes. "Heh. And the worst part is I shouldn't even have them. I made it so long without needing to equip my Cruxis Crystal and begin the transformation, and then right before we rendered the title obsolete, I had no choice but to undergo it anyway to maintain my cover as that damned triple agent. And now I'm stuck with these things for the rest of my life."

His blatant bitterness and accompanying implication made her eyes widen. "Wait, are you saying they're permanent? Even if you replaced your Cruxis Crystal with your Exsphere, you still couldn't get rid of them?"

Zelos's face fell further, looking as if he'd been brutally defeated. "No. Yggdrasill assured me that once the angel transformation reached the point mine did, the physiological changes are permanent. Even removing my Cruxis Crystal can't undo them. The genetically manipulated mana signature of the Chosen's bloodline apparently reacts to the Cruxis Crystal and results in the angel transformation. That's why Presea never gained any angelic powers besides strength - because she doesn't share our blood." He tilted his head. "Well, that and because she was technically an incubator to grow a Cruxis Crystal, not a normal user of a fully powered one like we Chosens are."

"And since Colette _is_ part of the Chosen's bloodline, that's why her Cruxis Crystal brought on her transformation," Sheena murmured.

"Exactly."

That...made way too much sense. This poor family, bred for thousands of years to be like this. They had no control over which family they were born into or what genes they were born with; how many others, like Zelos, and apparently his grandmother, too, had cursed their fate and wished to change it? No one should ever have to suffer simply because they were born. Thank goodness Lloyd had fought to change all of that - not just for the Chosens' sake, but for the sake of every person who'd ever had to suffer simply because they were born with a 'branded' genetic makeup.

"So it's genetic, passed down from parent to child," Sheena pondered aloud.

"That's my impression," Zelos said. "I'm assuming a parent doesn't even have to undergo the entire angel transformation before having a kid in order to pass it on to them; it's just something in our genetic makeup. And I'm not going to speculate what kind of impact Kratos's genetics had on Lloyd since he isn't part of the Chosen's bloodline."

Sheena bit her lip and nodded faintly, trying to digest everything. "So what would happen if, say, you had a child now that the transformation _is_ complete?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. I doubt it would be any different than if I'd had a kid before undergoing the transformation, but then, I obviously can't say for certain. It's not like I know of any Chosens who've had kids after they were transformed into angels; they all lost their souls and died before they could. And chances are even though I'll still be passing along these stupid genes to any kids I might one day have, it won't result in an angelic transformation in them. I mean, the odds of them ever getting near a Cruxis Crystal will be slim to none, what with Lloyd collecting and destroying all Exspheres."

He had a point. And oh, did she hope he was right about that. The thought of anyone else going through what he and Colette had sent a chill down her spine. "What about your father? Did he ever transform into an angel?"

"I can't say for certain since I barely ever saw the man, but I doubt it. No one's ever described him as being in any way 'angelic.' And Tethe'alla's been the flourishing world for so long that no one in my family's had to undergo the regeneration journey for decades. That was why everyone here was so surprised to see Colette's wings - because it's been so long since anyone had seen a real angel here."

Yeah, Sheena remembered hearing how the people in Meltokio had laughed at Colette for 'dressing up' like an angel. Stupid, ignorant people who had no idea how that poor girl had been suffering at the time - nor had they cared to find the truth. Sheena knew how that felt because she'd been laughed at here for years simply because she was a ninja who 'dressed weird.' "And what about Seles?" she went on. "Since she's related to you on your father's side, does that mean she'd react to the Cruxis Crystal the same way you did?"

Zelos nodded. "Chances are if she did, it would start the angel transformation in her, too, but there isn't a snowball's chance in Niflheim I'll ever risk _that_ happening. Her constitution is too weak to survive such a horrible process - and I would never wish suffering like that on her. As it is, if I'd known all of this back then, I never would've given it to her for safekeeping for fear she'd get curious and try equipping it. At least she's safe from that now."

Sheena nodded again, looking down at his chest and letting her fingers play over the buttons of his shirt. Despite whatever it was Seles thought of him, he was a good brother - and she suspected if Seles would accept him more, he'd be even better to her. He truly cared about her and would do anything to protect her; how could Seles still not to see that?

 _But then, how_ _ **could**_ _she see it?_ Sheena suddenly realized. If Zelos still had trouble seeing himself in a positive light, then how could his sister see him like that, either? And just like that, the pieces fit together. This whole conversation...he had answered her other question without her even asking it. His bitterness toward Cruxis was something she'd known for months, but that wasn't all. It was subtle, but it was definitely there: bitterness toward _himself_ , too. He hated his wings, but more than that, he hated _himself_ for putting himself in a position where he'd had to get them. And if he disapproved of himself like that...

She lifted her eyes back to his, needing to clarify her revelation. "This is why, isn't it?"

His eyes narrowed slightly as they searched hers. "This is why...what?"

"Why you have trouble believing your grandmother would be proud of you."

Zelos tensed, and for a long moment, he made no response, not even a simple nod. Finally, though, he looked down at her necklace, his voice, when he spoke, a barely audible whisper. "No matter what Robert and Eleanor might say, the fact of the matter is that I've made far too many bad choices to believe she would be happy about the man I've become."

Just as she'd thought. Her brows furrowed as she tried to get him to meet her eyes, but his gaze never left his grandmother's necklace. "Of course she would be, Zelos. She was your _grandmother_. How could she _not_ be proud of her grandson?"

He shook his head faintly but still didn't look at her. "I wish it was that simple."

Sheena blinked several times as she continued watching him. Uh oh. His mood was darkening further; the storm cloud was rolling back into his eyes. Maybe this, too, she shouldn't have mentioned. But it was too late now, and really, she _did_ want to figure out what was going on in that twisted head of his and help him sort through this. But she couldn't do that unless she knew why this bothered him so much.

"Why isn't it?" she asked. "Don't you think she would've wanted this, not just for you, but for your entire family, to be free of the 'Chosen's curse'? Based on what Robert and Eleanor said, I can't help thinking she wanted this for her family as much as you did."

Thankfully, Zelos met her gaze and observed her a moment, but then he sighed and diverted his eyes again. "Yeah, I may have gotten what I wanted, Sheena, and probably what she wanted for us, too, but at what cost? I hurt so many people to get where I am. I used everyone and everything I could to reach my goal, even though it meant trampling over them." He shook his head, his brows furrowing. "I may never have met her myself, but one thing I do know about her is that she never would've bought into the 'end justifying the means' mentality I did." His voice lowered to a mere whisper. "I was so selfish and reckless."

Sheena swallowed hard, taken aback. She'd known for months now that regret and guilt over his actions was buried within him in a place he never let anyone see, but she'd had no idea how deeply it ran. And suddenly, she didn't know what to say to help pull him from this emotional hole she'd unthinkingly pushed him into by bringing up this subject. For a long time, she'd viewed him the same way - as selfish and reckless - and chances were it was her constant scolding of him that had helped him see it in himself, but that was before she'd realized how much he'd struggled with those choices and why he'd acted as he had. And now...now that she'd peeked into the reasoning behind his actions, she viewed him completely differently. But how could she convince _him_ of that?

"You were determined and desperate to be free," she finally said, looking down at his chest. "There's a big difference there."

He shook his head. "It's still no excuse for some of the things I did."

She nodded curtly. "I know. And no, based on the little I know about your grandmother, she probably wouldn't approve of an 'end justifies the means' mentality. I'm not convinced she wouldn't be proud of you, though, Zelos. In fact, I really do think she would be."

Zelos sighed and rubbed his face in growing frustration, but then he lowered his hand and looked her in the eye again. "Sheena, how can you say that? You're one of the people that I hurt, that I used, that I _trampled on_ , to get here. So are Lloyd and Colette and the others. I betrayed you guys for my own selfish reasons, and I can't undo that. I agreed to betray you without even knowing why you were doing what you were doing, without even knowing who Lloyd and the others were. You have no idea how much I wish I _could_ undo that. How can you say she would be proud of me for letting myself be tempted into siding with Cruxis, the group responsible for _creating_ that damned title in the first place, and coming seconds away from betraying _my own_ _friends_ , condemning Colette to what would've been a horrible, meaningless existence as the host to a dead woman, all for something _I_ wanted? There's no way she would be!"

Sheena squeezed her eyes shut, likewise growing frustrated, albeit not for the same reason. Damn it, she wished she knew how to alleviate his guilt and convince him _it was okay_ and that his grandmother _would_ still be proud of him, despite those bad choices. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again. "Yeah, okay, you did that. But that wasn't _all_ you did. Sure, you wavered over what to do, but in the end _you_ _made the right choice_. Doesn't that count for _something_? I think she _would_ be proud of you for making your own decisions, changing your mind, joining the 'weaker side,' and then especially for seeing it through like you did rather than running away." She took his hands in hers and gently squeezed them, her voice softening. "Zelos, we're alive because you chose to help us, to save us from those traps." She motioned at his wings. "Speaking for myself, I'm alive because you have _these_. They may be a symbol for you of every way you went wrong, but you're _past_ that now. I can understand why you hate them - I _can_ \- but to me, they're something good, they're something _beautiful_ , because if you _didn't_ have them, if you _hadn't_ made the choices you did, then I would've died in that hole. And more than just me, if you hadn't had the 'in' you had with Cruxis, we never would've gotten the aionis, saved Colette, beat Yggdrasill, and reunited the worlds. So yes, all things considered, I _do_ think she'd be proud of you. Sure, you messed up plenty, but you did an awful lot right, too."

"Maybe," he whispered, observing her another moment before letting out a soft, wry laugh. "And again, you make it sound so simple. You have no idea how much I wish it _was_ that simple, that I could look solely at the good and ignore all the bad. I'm just not sure any of the good I've done since then can balance out all of the crap."

And there, finally, was something she could relate to personally - not quite in the same way, but close enough. She wondered the same every time she thought about Mizuho: whether any of the good she'd tried to do could make up for the nightmare she'd caused it. It was a horrible feeling, never knowing if she'd done enough or if she'd ever even have enough opportunities to do so, and the worst part was that no matter how many people told her she had, _they_ couldn't determine that; only _she_ could.

"I know," she whispered, then swallowed hard and looked up at him again, suddenly wanting to share something with him that occasionally helped ease her own mind when she started feeling down. It might work, it might not, but it was worth a try. She shrugged. "Then maybe all you can do is look at it the way I do when I start thinking like that."

Zelos arched an eyebrow. "And how's that?"

Sheena squeezed his hands tighter. "The past will never help us atone for our sins; the only way we can do that is to look to the future. And no matter what happened yesterday, or even today, tomorrow is another day."

For a moment he was silent, considering that, but finally his intense gaze relaxed a little, the worst of its edge fading away - almost, she thought, into a faint smile - as he nodded, the action nearly imperceptible. "Yeah, you're right," he whispered. "It is."

Oh, good. Finally, she'd dispelled a portion of the darkness clouding his blue eyes. That was a mindset she didn't think about often because of what it meant for her, but deep down it was something she held fast to. After all, that was how she looked at her promise to become Mizuho's chief: as the most effective way she'd ever find to atone for her 'sins' with Volt, by doing everything she could to help Mizuho move forward into the future. Becoming chief had never been a goal of hers, and ever since she'd been selected, she had a hard time convincing herself it was something she wanted and would be good at it, but when the opportunity had presented itself, she couldn't turn it down, either. Her deep-seated need for atonement was simply too great to let her walk away.

And that was why she _would_ become chief, whether she wanted to or not, despite her fears of the future, even if it meant eventually giving up the one thing she really _did_ want: Zelos. She owed Mizuho far too much to let her own selfish desires prevent her from doing what she needed to do. She desperately wanted another way to present itself, a way to atone, to help Mizuho in exchange for all the ill she'd caused it, but she was realistic enough to realize that would probably never happen, and she had accepted this in case it _was_ the only way fate would give her to do so. It was a terrifying, sobering thought, knowing what the trade-off for redemption would be, but that was how it was, and she couldn't change it. Only a gracious reprieve from fate could change the future that awaited her now, and she wasn't convinced it cared enough about her to do that.

But right now, worrying about that would just depress her, which would undoubtedly depress Zelos again, right when he'd started taking a step out of that deep, dark hole in his soul. It was time to use the truth to help him climb out of it completely. Offering him a warm smile, she gently trailed her thumbs over the backs of his hands. "Well, for what it's worth, Zelos, whether your grandmother would be or not, something we'll never know for certain, Eleanor and Robert aren't the only ones proud of you and the man you're becoming. I am, too."

His eyes widened, but something else was building there that hadn't been there a second ago: cautious hope. "Yeah?"

Her smile broadened. "Yeah. You've proven me right about what a good man you are at heart." Sheena bit her lip, carefully choosing her words. "Zelos, you are capable of so many things you don't even realize you are. And that's not a new thing for you, not a giant change in your personality; you always have been. The difference now is that you don't let anyone or anything stand in your way from doing those things anymore - not the king, not the church, not your hunnies, not other nobles...no one, not even yourself. I've seen it myself in everything you're doing now, regardless of what other people think of you, that you never would've done before. And that's how I know if you really want to make up for your 'bad choices,' you will. When you want something, you find a way to get it - and this time you'll do it without making the same 'bad choices' you did before."

And finally, his face melted, the remaining dark clouds that were marring his beautiful blue eyes dissipating. For a long moment, Zelos observed her, clearly touched, a slow smile appearing on his face. "You really think so?" he whispered.

 _Oh, thank goodness_ , Sheena thought, giving him a relieved smile. _Not only is he listening, but he wants to believe me_. "Yeah, Zelos, I really do."

"Heh...I guess we'll see, won't we?" he murmured, but that time there was far less uncertainty in his voice than there had been a few minutes ago. Releasing one of her hands, he gently touched the pearl pendant of his grandmother's necklace, his fingers trailing over her skin. "Well, whether she'd be proud of everything I've done before this or not, there's one choice I've made that I know she _would_ be happy about."

Sheena arched an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

 _'My choice to let you wear this necklace tonight_ ,' was what she _expected_ him to say, but then his eyes lifted to hers and, giving her that soft, loving smile that always made her heart skip a beat, he pulled his other hand from hers and gently cupped her face, forcing her to hold his gaze. "You, Sheena. You."

Her face flared, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she was pretty sure she batted her eyelashes at him, too, before her other instinct when he surprised, embarrassed, and touched her like that won out. Lightly smacking his shoulder, she smiled shyly, leaned forward, rested her forehead against his, and uttered a fond, "Idiot."

"Yeah, I know," he murmured back to her, and then he tilted his head a little and gave her a chaste but tender and oh-so-sweet kiss that made her heart swell with love. After a moment, he pulled back just enough to lightly brush his nose against hers. "I love you."

Oh, how she loved hearing those words. She lifted her head and gave him a warm, happy smile. "I love you, too."

Zelos grinned and gave her another quick kiss, then he stood up straight again, watching her softly. And it was only then that she realized, intentionally or not, he still had his wings out. At least he was happy and relaxed again. Sure, she didn't doubt he still wasn't happy about his wings, and she knew it would take him a long time, maybe even the rest of his life, to fully accept himself and his past, because chances were it would be the same for her, but she had no doubt he would keep working on it and find as many ways as he could to 'amend' for his 'sins' until he _was_ happy with himself. And since that wasthe case, there was no more reason to dwell on that. Maybe someday she could bring it up again, but there was no need to do so right now.

Giving him another reassuring smile, Sheena stepped backwards so she could admire the beauty of the man in front of her again, then she cleared her throat and motioned at his wings. "So what do they feel like?"

His face fell a little, but that time the darkness and tension thankfully stayed at bay. "Like nothing. I can barely tell they're there, other than when the breeze blows on them."

"Which I suppose isn't surprising since they're not really _physical_ , like a bird's wings, but more like energy," she murmured, slowly moving around him to get a better look. He didn't actually watch her walk around him, though - in fact, he didn't move his head at all, probably because he was afraid of actually seeing his wings and having a visual he didn't want. One day she hoped he could overcome that and see how beautiful they really were, but right now he wasn't ready for that, so she wouldn't push. "If you can feel the breeze with them, though, then they must have _some_ sort of nerves in them, right?"

He shrugged. "I guess so."

Stopping behind him, Sheena observed them a moment, a sudden impulse striking her to feel them for herself. She quickly stopped herself, though, realizing she should ask his permission first, especially since he was so sensitive about them. "Can I touch them?" she asked softly, then quickly went on as he tensed again. "I mean, I know I could've asked Colette all of this, but I always felt so strange asking her about them knowing how much suffering they caused her, and I didn't want to come across like Raine, treating her like a guinea pig or something. And...well, I never felt right bringing them up when they were part of the reason I'd been sent to kill her."

Zelos considered that, his body still tense, but after a moment his head sank downward and he nodded. "If you really want to, sweetheart, go ahead."

Oh, good _._ It amazed her how much trust he placed in her, making so many exceptions to rules he would never break for anyone else, telling her secrets no one else knew and letting her do things he wasn't completely sure about. "Just stop me if it's uncomfortable."

He nodded, and Sheena lifted her hand, tentatively touching the far edge of his left wing. She wasn't sure what she'd expected to feel, but what she _did_ feel surprised her. Because his wings were so energy-like, like orange-gold lights glowing out of thin air, she hadn't been sure she'd feel _anything_ , but there was definitely _something_ there. They felt like...like extremely dense air, although when she pushed harder on them, they gave, indicating they were flexible. More than that, though, they were very warm and made her finger tingle. In some respects, it felt like a strong yet faintly spongy and pulsing electrical energy barrier. Actually, she couldn't help thinking it felt _nice_ , almost like an ethereal feather.

She looked up at him, even though he couldn't see her. "Can you feel that?"

Zelos tilted his head. "A little, but it doesn't feel like much. Feels okay, I guess, but nothing special."

Huh. So the nerves in his wings weren't sensitive - or at least they weren't sensitive _there_. But then, she was also at the far edge of his wing and nowhere near his body...were the nerves in them the same everywhere? She wouldn't pass by this opportunity to find out. She traced it inward a little, enjoying the smooth feel beneath her skin...and to her surprise, halfway between the tip of his wing and his back, he started fidgeting a little.

She briefly paused, her eyes narrowing, then slowly resumed her trek inward. "Now?"

"Yeah, that I can feel a little more...oh!"

His body tensed, and Sheena quickly stopped. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said with a curt nod. "Keep going, sweetheart."

Hm. She wasn't sure what was going on yet, but the closer she got to his back, the more his body stiffened. She suddenly wished she could see his face so she could gauge whether whatever he was feeling was good or bad. "You're _sure_ you want me to keep going?"

"Uh huh... _oh_!"

At his gasp, her fingers stilled completely, resting against the spot where his wings connected to his back, and her eyes narrowed further. He was definitely feeling _something_ in this spot, but _what_? "Zelos?" she pressed.

"Heh. Do that again, love." Since he didn't sound like he was in pain, she did so, rubbing a light circle against the connection between his wing and his back. Before she could even complete the circle, though, his body tensed further and he gasped again. "Oh, _wow_." To her surprise, a second later, as she completed the circle, he uttered a soft, strangled moan - a sound that sent a frisson of electricity and, shockingly, _desire_ racing through her. "Ah, Sheena?" he said, his voice rising a little. "I think you'd better stop now."

She immediately pulled her hand away and, thoroughly intrigued, walked around him so she could see him again, her amazement increasing tenfold at the sight before her. His cheeks were flushed in the soft lamplight, he was breathing quicker than normal, and his blue eyes were wide and laced with a darkness Sheena was certain she'd never seen before - not like the clouds she'd seen earlier, but almost more like...she wasn't sure what. _Hunger_ , maybe?

"What, did that hurt?" she asked.

Instead of looking at her, though, Zelos just shook his head jerkily. "Ah...no. It definitely didn't hurt. _Definitely_."

Her eyebrows rose a little, a smile tugging on her lips as amusement replaced her concern. No, that definitely wasn't the expression of a man in pain. "So it felt good?"

Zelos nodded again curtly - almost shakily, she thought. In fact, his entire body seemed to be trembling a little. "Oh, yeah. Really, _really_ good. Heh, a little _too_ good, actually."

Sheena bit her lip, trying to hold back her smile. She almost couldn't believe this was what it seemed to be, but she had no doubt her impression was correct: Zelos was turned on. His blue eyes were wild, and hungry, and raging with desire; his voice was husky and throaty; his face was flushed; he refused to look at her; and that moan he'd just uttered...there was no other way to interpret it. She'd never seen him like this before, and it certainly hadn't been intentional _now_ , either, but what she was seeing was...it was...

 _...It was incredible._

For a moment, she just gaped at him, amazed, her own heart pounding faster as warmth spread through her...oh, Jizou, was seeing him this turned on actually turning _her_ on? She quickly pushed that thought aside. Even if it was true, she refused to think like that, because it really _had_ been unintentional, on both of their parts. But she couldn't deny it or pretend she didn't recognize it, either, because as awkward as this was, feigning ignorance would be even worse, and maybe just plain embarrassing, for him.

So instead, she opted for the mildest way she could think of to broach the truth. "Sexually?" she quietly verified.

Zelos cleared his throat and looked further away from her, his flush deepening further. As she'd suspected, he wasn't just turned on, but he was embarrassed about it, too. If only he knew that seeing _him_ turned on was actually having a similar effect on _her_ , he might not be so embarrassed by it. "Ah...yeah."

"Which is why you want me to stop," she murmured, an amazed smile emerging on her lips.

He took in a deep but shaky breath, still clearly struggling to regain control and calm himself, and a moment later he swallowed. "Yeah...that road is a little too dangerous to walk right now. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for you to touch me for awhile, either."

 _Because he's afraid my touch would push him beyond the besieged limits of his restraint and he'd try something he doesn't mean to with me_. Even after two months, and especially when she saw his struggle now, it still amazed her how stubbornly he was holding to his promise never to push her for sex. And while part of her was now curious what would happen if she'd continued - and, for that matter, was marveling that she'dbeen able to affect him like that at all - she had promised not to tease or provoke him, and so she had no choice but to agree to his request now...no matter how much the unexpected desire flaring within her left her wanting only to kiss him.

"Right," she murmured, physically holding herself back from stepping closer to him.

Zelos took another deep breath, then jerkily motioned at his wings with his thumb. "Um, I'm gonna put these things away now, sweetheart. Okay?"

That was definitely a good idea, before they tempted _her_ to do something that really wasn't wise. She nodded, biting back another grin. "Okay."

Sheena took one last look at them before they vanished, memorizing their beauty since she doubted she'd be seeing them again anytime soon, and then they were gone. And finally, Zelos chanced an awkward, embarrassed glance at her, his face still an endearing red that betrayed how turned on he'd been by what she'd thought was a simple touch. "Heh. Wow. I, ah, I wasn't sure _what_ to expect, but _that_ wasn't on my list of possibilities."

He quickly looked away from her again, taking a few more deep breaths, clearly trying to counter the lingering sensations. Sheena stepped a little closer to him, unable to resist, but she didn't want to get too close and 'tease' him either, not until she was certain he was back to normal. "Mine either. I remember watching Lloyd and Genis touching Colette's wings a few times, but she just said it felt like they were tickling her. She never said anything about it having _that_ kind of effect on her."

His eyes darted back at her, still a little wild but not nearly as bad as they had been a minute ago. The redness on his face was finally paling a little, too. At least he was looking at her again, meaning they were hopefully heading back into safer waters. "Well, I can't say if it's a gender thing or what, and I'm not really interested in asking Kratos or Yuan if that's normal for male angels, but I _can_ tell you that that did _not_ feel like tickling. At _all_."

Okay, she couldn't hold back her grin any longer. Caving to the urge, Sheena took a step closer to him and, when he didn't tense or back away, she closed the remaining distance between them. "Heh. Who would've thought _that_ would be a...what do they call it? An erogenous zone, for you?"

Zelos smiled awkwardly, but at least he was holding her gaze again. "Yeah, no kidding. Actually, that was a step or two beyond a typical erogenous zone. Man, talk about _intense_."

She chuckled and returned his awkward smile, her heart pounding a little faster and a blush warming her cheeks. It was almost embarrassing, not only accidentally causing him that pleasure, but also her own desire-filled reaction at _seeing_ him like that. Embarrassing...but also kind of exciting. "Heh. Sorry 'bout that, Zelos. I had no idea it would affect you like that. If I had, I wouldn't have tried it."

He took another calming breath, but then gave her a soft smile and shook his head, even more of the heat and wildness fading from his eyes. "That's okay, sweetheart. You don't have to apologize. It's not like you did it on purpose. And really, _I'm_ sorry for putting you in such a weird position in the first place. I didn't know that would happen, either. I'm just glad I'm aware of it now so I won't be caught off guard like that again." He grinned. "Although I am glad if anyone was gonna discover that particular spot, it was you, not some hunny. It's embarrassing enough that it happened with you."

"Hey, don't be sorry, and by all means, don't be embarrassed," she quickly said, returning his grin. "It wasn't your fault, either. _I'm_ the one who was curious."

"Heh. Then I guess neither of us is to blame." He shrugged. "And honestly, I was getting pretty curious there myself."

Thankfully, he really did seem to have calmed down now. Sheena took a deep breath, similarly trying to clear out her own lingering arousal, then chuckled again, offering him a shy smile. "So is it okay if I touch you again?"

His grin softened, and he nodded. "Yeah, I think we're safe again."

Oh, thank Jizou, because she wasn't sure how much longer she could resist the urge to kiss him. Gently cupping his face with her hands, she hopped up on her toes and pressed her lips to his - a kiss that Zelos quickly returned, only with far more heat and passion behind it than usual. Probably a lingering aftereffect of what had just happened, she figured, amazed, as his hands dropped to her hips and drew her closer to him, pressing her body against his, a moan sneaking out of her. But despite the added depth to the kiss, Sheena could tell he was still holding himself back, and all too soon he broke the kiss altogether, slid his arms around her, his hands slipping beneath his coat to rest against her bare back, and just held her against him in a warm embrace.

After a long moment of standing like that, savoring the feel of his breath on her neck and his hands on her skin, he pulled back and arched a pointed eyebrow at her. "Just no playing with my wings like that again, okay?"

Logic, her sense of duty to Mizuho, and guilt at keeping their relationship going so long told her to agree, but her heart and her still-aroused body had a very different idea - and thanks most likely to the champagne still coursing through her veins, she couldn't resist making an exception, just this once, and succumbing to that selfish desire. Sheena grinned wickedly, her gaze falling to his lips. "Well, not _now_ , at least. But believe me, Zelos, I won't forget about that. One day I want to see just how far that goes for you."

At first his eyes widened at that, but then they flared again with unmistakable, fiery desire. "Promises, promises," he murmured, returning her wicked grin. "You'd better be careful, love, because I might just hold you to that...one day."

Sheena blushed deeply as he gave her one last kiss before pulling back and, still grinning, motioned that they should sit again, which she did, sinking back into his warmth as he wrapped his arm around her. And it was only as she rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest and felt his steady heartbeat beneath her fingers that it hit her: what she'd just said to him, giving him false hope for the future like she had, was probably the cruelest thing she'd ever said to him - and over the years, she'd said a lot of cruel things to him. Guilt flared within her, and she buried her head further into the crook of his neck. Oh, Jizou, she shouldn't have said that. They didn't have a future together, not in a long-term, sexual sense, and she couldn't afford to pretend they did. Doing so, after all, would only make the inevitable end hurt them both all the more.

But how could she take it back now? _'Oh, by the way, Zelos, I just lied to you, and I really think we should be breaking up soon because why bother with our relationship if there's no future for us'_? Yeah, like _that_ would work - like she even _could_ say that after the beautiful night they'd just had. And the thing was, she didn't _want_ to take it back. After seeing his reaction to that particular stimulus, no matter how unintentional, and after feeling the heat and desire seeping into her, she _wanted_ to see it again, to cause him that kind of pleasure and see how far those sensations went for him. She _wanted_ her words to be true...she _wanted_ there to be a 'one day,' a 'tomorrow,' for them, a different future than the one she dreaded, one where she _could_ enjoy being with him and causing him such pleasure.

And for the first time ever, Sheena closed her eyes and let herself envision it: a future in Mizuho with Zelos by her side, accepting the role of the chief consort and agreeing to help her with her duties, pointing out the flaws in her logic and helping her make the right decisions, living with her in her new home, kissing her, holding her, raising children with her, happy to be there, no longer having to hold back, able to give in to desire and loving each other completely. They may have only been dating two months now, but she already knew she wanted it. No, more than just want; she _craved_ it. If she was really being honest with herself, that would be her perfect, ideal future, being able to share those things with a man she loved this much, not with some other man she felt nothing for. It was a future, she suddenly realized, she would do anything to make happen.

Reality quickly returned, though, and the image became too painful to maintain, forcing her to banish it from her mind. That ideal future, unfortunately, would never exist, and she couldn't delude herself into thinking it ever would, not when she already knew she could never ask him to do that. It was unrealistic to believe he would ever choose that life for himself - but, more than that, it was unrealistic to believe even if he didchoose it, that he would ever be happy with it. On the contrary, he would be miserable. He'd told her once that he wanted a fun, easy life, and her future life as chief was about as un-fun and un-easy as someone accustomed to Meltokio's luxuries could find. It wasn't for him, and she would never forgive herself for letting him accept it, especially when, over time, he would grow resentful of her for trapping him there in something he'd never wanted.

And try as she might, she simply couldn't see a way to get out of her future as Mizuho's chief. In pointing out to him that there was always a 'tomorrow' to atone for their sins, she had reminded herself why she'd accepted that future for herself: to seek redemption. And, also as she'd reminded herself, that meant she couldn't back away from it, because her need to be redeemed was too powerful to let her walk away, which eliminated the possibility of running away from Mizuho to be with him. That left only one possibility for making the future she wanted happen: if her grandfather released her from her obligation to become chief. And the odds of that happening...well, after seeing the pride in his eyes when she'd completed the ritual to restore Mizuho's twelve guardians, thus approving her to become chief, she thought a sudden turnabout releasing her from that future was as likely as it was for Zelos to ever be truly happy in her village.

She could no longer deny what she'd done to them both these past two months: by letting herself fall too hard for him, she'd let him fall too hard for her, and as a result she was starting to doubt there would ever be an 'easy end' to them. The fact that he'd held himself back from something he obviously wanted tonight, again, refusing to make her feel uncomfortable or pressured, was just one of the many reasons she had fallen for him this hard and fast in the first place, and now she didn't want to let him go. She wasn't sure she even _could_ let him go, not unless something major changed between them first. He was serious about her and about them; if she hadn't been certain about that before, she certainly was now after seeing the breathtakingly unwavering devotion he'd shown her tonight.

'They' weren't supposed to have lasted this long. Why hadn't they, opposites in so many ways, fallen apart? Why hadn't they gotten sick of each other and broken it off, like she'd expected would happen? Why hadn't she found a good reason to break up with him yet? Why weren't they bickering and insulting each other like they used to? Why was she having so much trouble getting mad at him? Why were they so _happy_ together when it didn't make sense for them to be? She'd been counting on that, on the adversarial relationship they'd had for six years returning and, as a result, ending 'them' naturally, but it still hadn't. And now, from what she was seeing, it wasn't going to. If left as it was, she just couldn't see an end to them other than the artificial one Mizuho would one day force on them. She didn't understand it, but she couldn't deny the facts, either: they worked together and were happy together, and Sheena didn't want to let that go.

She was happy with him, after all - _truly_ happy...happier than she'd ever believed possible for herself. If it wasn't for this uncertainty about the future weighing her down, her heart would be soaring. It was a happiness she never wanted to lose, and the longer they stayed together, and the closer they became, and the more beauty she saw in him, and the deeper she fell in love with him, the more scared she was becoming of the future taking it all away from her. If she'd fallen this hard for him in only two months, how much worse would it be by the time the inevitable end became imminent?

Those thoughts settled in her stomach like a lead pipe. She desperately wanted her words to him to be true, and she desperately wanted that ideal future to become reality; she just didn't know how to make it happen. And for a moment, she almost asked him what _his_ thoughts about the future were, where _he_ saw them going, and how likely he thought it was that 'they' would survive the ominous storm brewing on the horizon; she almost asked him if he would ever consider coming to Mizuho to be with her, almost told him her doubts and fears and begged him to reassure her that everything would work out, to promise her they would be together forever, that nothing would ever take him away from her. She needed to hear those words to put her heart at ease so she could give in and love him the way she wanted to.

Before she could utter even a single word, though, she bit her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut. Jizou help her, she _couldn't_. She couldn't make him feel obligated to make promises he couldn't keep to try to alleviate her fears, and so she refused to put him in that position - which meant keeping that dreary uncertainty to herself. And she couldn't end this with him, either; she couldn't give him up, not after the beautiful night they'd had, not after hearing him say she was _'something amazing worth holding onto_ ,' and especially not after he'd just displayed so much trust in her by showing her his wings. Their relationship might be doomed, and the end, when it came, would probably kill her, but she was just too selfish and scared to deal with that tonight. And really, she reminded herself, as unlikely as it was, there still was a slim, nearly impossible, but still extremely powerful hope burning within her that maybe something _would_ change her future. She didn't know what it might be or how likely it was to happen, but that particular hope did exist, and she'd be damned if she let it slip away and gave up on a man she loved and would do anything to be with.

 _Fate, please,_ she prayed _. Please, let me enjoy this moment, this love, for as long as I can. Please send me,_ _ **us**_ _, a future different from the one I'm afraid is coming. Please let me stay with him, let us stay like this, a little while longer._

 _Please._

"Hey, sweetheart, you okay?"

Sheena started as Zelos nudged her and pressed a kiss to her shoulder that, as always, sent a shiver racing down her spine and made her heart pound faster. "Hm?" she murmured, turning her head further toward him, unable to resist smiling as he trailed his lips up to her cheek and pressed another kiss there. This man was so tactile - something she'd always known about him, considering all the times he'd teasingly tried to grope her, but that now was so gentle, with so much love and meaning behind it, that she couldn't push him away even if she wanted to...and she definitely didn't want to. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

His lips left her ear and he looked at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "About...?"

As much as she wanted to discuss her fears with him, she couldn't, and so she opted instead for a slightly different - but no less true - subject. "I almost can't believe I'm saying this, but I had a really nice time tonight."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

She nodded and gave him a soft smile. "Unbelievable, huh? I never thought I'd enjoy one of these parties, but I did. You made it fun. And...well, it's not like I can complain about getting to spend so much time with you." Her smile broadened into a grin as she saw _him_ grin. Oh, how she loved making him happy. "Granted, I could've done without having to mingle with fake noblemen, deal with weird rivals, and plod through stuffy, awkward conversations with nobility, but I'm still glad I came with you."

Zelos's grin softened, and he pressed another kiss to her cheek, leaning his head against hers and pulling her tighter against him. "Thanks for agreeing to it, Sheena," he said, his voice lowering. "You have no idea how much I appreciate your making an exception to your no-Meltokio-parties-ever rule for me. Tonight was, by far, the best time I've ever had at one of these things." She could feel his lips pull upward in another smile. "And that last time doesn't count because we didn't spend much time at the party itself."

If she had known what would come of taking a chance with him as she had that night, she would have demanded the Chosen One take a 'mental holiday' years ago. Oh, was she glad it _had_ happened as it had, because she wouldn't trade this for anything. And she didn't want to think about being forced to trade this, _him_ , for her own redemption anymore, so she wasn't going to.

"Of course," she said. "I know you'd do the same for me if our positions were reversed."

"Of course I would." He pulled back and arched an eyebrow at her. "So does this mean I might be able to talk you into coming with me to one of these things again?"

The hopeful look in his eyes, reminding her that he really did enjoy her company, made her blush again. "Well, let's just say I doubt you'll have to do too much persuading." Seeing him smile again, Sheena pressed a tender kiss to his lips, then pulled back, needing to tell him this. "Every time I see you lately, you're doing things for me that I never expected you to do, things you don't have to do and that you're probably not enthused about, either. So the least I can do is give you the same when you need something from me. I love you, Zelos, and I _want_ to give you back something in return for everything you've given me, even if it means making exceptions like this."

Zelos observed her a moment, his blue eyes soft and admiring. "I'm not sure I understand this yet, but those things really don't seem all that bad when you're doing them for someone you love."

"No, they really don't," she whispered back to him.

He gave her another quick kiss. "Well, I really do appreciate it, sweetheart."

Yeah, he did; she could see his gratitude shining in his eyes. And seeing that happiness truly did make any discomfort she'd felt tonight worthwhile. "And I really do appreciate all the effort you've made to be honest with me these past two months, to help me out so much, to trust me with the real you, and to appease my curiosity by doing things I know you're not comfortable with, like showing me your wings. I feel so selfish at times, accepting everything you do for me without doing anything for you in return."

His smile faded and he shook his head. "Don't. I don't want you to feel that way, that you're being selfish or that you have to do something because you think you owe it to me."

"No!" she said, her eyes widening. "No, that's not it. I'm doing it because I want to, Zelos, because I love you. I'd do it no matter what. I'm just glad to have an opportunity to do something for you in return for everything you've done for me. It's only fair."

Thankfully, his smile returned, even though he shook his head again. "You don't even realize how much you've already done for me, do you? Just by giving me a second chance, you gave me so much more than I'll ever deserve. You've helped me find the beauty, the good, where I've never seen it before - in nature, in creating things, in being helpful. The truth is, Sheena, I can't imagine _not_ doing that stuff anymore to repay you for everything you've already done for me."

Sheena beamed him a soft, happy smile. "And neither can I."

Cupping her face with his free hand, Zelos leaned forward and lightly nuzzled his nose against hers, then gave her another sweet, tender kiss before pulling away and drawing her back down to rest against him. She settled against him, enjoying his warmth, and closed her eyes, taking his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. "I wonder how many other exceptions I'll find myself willing to make one day," he murmured, his voice so soft that if she hadn't been sitting beside him, she wouldn't have caught it. "I guess I can't dismiss the possibility that those things will eventually win me over, too, can I?"

Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her head so she could see him. "What was that?"

He smiled warmly and shook his head. "Nothing. Just talking to myself."

Kissing her cheek again, Zelos drew her back down to him, and despite her curiosity, Sheena let it go. It really hadn't sounded like he was beating himself up again - just musing to himself. And again, as she closed her eyes and sank into his warmth, she couldn't help envisioning that perfect, ideal future with him - but the ache of yearning and desire for something outside her reach quickly overwhelmed her, and she had to force it aside, unwilling to let herself get her hopes up for something that wasn't meant to be.

After all, as much as she wanted to hold onto him, to stay with him like this forever, one day love would lead her to do something she would never willingly do otherwise. One day, for his sake, assuming fate didn't change everything first, love would finally win out, she would place him and his happiness above her own selfish desires, and she would let him go. She hated the thought of it, but deep in her heart she knew what she would eventually have to do, and when that time came, when she couldn't buy herself any more time and no other choice remained, she would be strong, she wouldn't second-guess herself, and she would do it. And when that happened, this coveted relationship would become nothing but a beautiful memory of a time when she had enjoyed life, when she had lived and loved and helped a man she adored do the same.

But tonight it wasn't imminent, and right now, she was too emotionally weak to even consider doing so. Tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, this decade...it could happen at any time, and one day it would. She didn't know exactly when, but one thing she did know was that it wouldn't be today. And so, until she had to lower her head from the clouds and face reality, she would enjoy the present and these beautiful moments they had together for as long as she could. 'One day,' after all, was just too far away.

"I love you, Zelos," she whispered.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and gave her body a tender squeeze. "I love you too, Sheena."

His voice and his embrace were so warm and affirming that she had no doubt he meant that. And soon enough the bubble of warmth and love surrounding them did as it always had before and left her conflicting thoughts and feelings, her questions and fears, fading into nothingness, lulling her into a sense of safety and security, of desperately coveted peace and happiness, that she was simply incapable of fighting.

And so she surrendered to the love and warmth and hope for that beautiful, perfect, idealistic future. Zelos had said before that he viewed her as _'something amazing worth holding onto,_ ' and she viewed him the same. And she'd be damned if that wasn't what she did until 'one day' arrived and yanked him out of her reach.

But for now, she wouldn't worry about that. For now, the present was too enticing. For now, she would enjoy this night, and tomorrow they would go back to Mizuho and plant her precious iris, and then after that...well, after that, anything was still possible.

Anything.

~Fin~


End file.
